Radiate
by WeAllBreakTheSame
Summary: Sequel to Ignite (highly recommended you read that first): Bella and Edward are finally together for good after finding out Bella's whole life was a plot to hinder the Volturi. After many events play out, Bella makes up her mind and the Volturi learn of their fate.
1. Don't Leave

**Welcome to Radiate! (the sequel to Ignite - it's highly recommended that you read that first + below are spoilers for Ignite) This sequel was highly requested and I'd already been thinking about this sequel while writing Ignite so I'm happy to do it! I'm so thrilled that everyone has waited patiently for this sequel as I've been preparing for my grade 11 finals! My last one is Monday, so I thought now would be a good time to post the first chapter. The story is not done yet, I still have a lot to write, but since my summer break is almost here I'm going to try my hardest to post at least once a week!**

**::Bella and Edward are finally together for good after finding out Bella's whole life was a boycott against her family. After many events play out, Bella makes up her mind and the Volturi learn of their fate.::**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer own all rights and privileges that are The Twilight Saga. I do not own anything, I only borrow her characters to provide you with the following... **

"Edward!" I squealed. His mouth continued its path up my neck and eventually made it to my lips. I couldn't help but kiss him back playfully.

Edward had me trapped underneath him on our bed. We were going to be late for school.

My first day had been utterly boring and mentally exhausting. But unlike the Cullens who grew bored of school over time, I grew to enjoy it more. I'd been to Volterra at least once a month since living in Forks, and coming back and going to school was the right amount of boring I needed.

"No – no Edward. We have to go," I mumbled against his lips.

"Two minutes, Bella?" He was trying to distract me my kissing me deeply again, but I didn't let it happen… even though I wanted to grant him his two more minutes, we had somewhere to be.

I grabbed his face between my hands to stop him. "Come on, we have to go." I took advantage of his stillness and snuck out from underneath him to the other side of the room.

I laughed as I watched him fall face first onto the bed.

"I still don't understand why you enjoy going so much." He got up and straightened out his shirt.

"Because it's the only thing close to normal I ever get," I replied and started smoothing out his hair; which was ruffled, courtesy of my hands.

"The most feared vampire in the world – going to high school with a bunch of humans. Yes, that sounds very normal to me." He smirked.

I wacked my hand against his chest. "Shut up!"

"Let's go!" I heard Alice yell two floors down.

I grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him downstairs.

"Come on, Eddie. She's been back for a week," Emmett commented.

He growled as Esme walked in. "I don't need another stair broken, and I believe you have somewhere to be."

"Yes, we do. Let's go!" Alice said. I had a feeling Alice and I were the only ones taking school seriously anymore.

We were almost done our junior year of high school. Of course, I already missed a lot of the past six months from being in Volterra. I could tell everyone was getting bored.

Edward held my hand, as usual, as we drove to school. Alice and Jasper went with Rosalie and Emmett, which was unusual.

His hand suddenly tightened around mine.

"Edward?"

He hesitated, and then asked, "When do you think you'll have to leave again?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

"I hate it."

"I do too."

"You know-"

"No," I cut him off. "How many times have we talked about this? There's no compromise. You're not coming."

His hand tightened more. "What if there comes a day when you leave and never come back?"

"I can take care of myself. The day doesn't exist," I told him. He was silent and suddenly needed two hands to drive. "As horrible as this may sound; me losing you is a lot worse."

'Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true. You have a family to fall back on. A family that needs you. I'm easily replaceable."

"Not to me. Never say that again. You _are_ the most important thing in my life. The only thing that makes my life worth living." He said this sincerely, but there was still a hard edge to his voice.

This wasn't the first time we had this conversation. It happened as often as I left. It was unfortunately easy for us to turn around our moods in a matter of minutes and was especially easy when Jasper wasn't around.

It put somewhat of a strain on our relationship, but it was hard to stay mad when we knew I'd soon have to leave again.

Maybe he didn't see how much I hated being away from him. No, he only saw how happy I was to travel and be with my other family. I wasn't sure when it would all come to an end. Perhaps it never would and I would have to live forever, torn between what I love and who I love.

"Will this ever make sense?" I asked to no one.

Edward sighed. "I don't know."

"Edward, my life didn't make sense before you came along. I didn't know who I was. You have to understand that I can't risk your life, so mine will be better. I won't do it."

The car slowed down as we approached the school.

"What do you say to playing hookie today?" Edward asked. Before I could answer the car speed up again, and the school flashed by.

"I don't have a choice now," I said, waving a hand at the school behind us.

"No, I'd go back if you really wanted me to." He smiled a crooked smile.

"I guess I don't mind… will Alice be angry?" I asked, remembering how she and I were the only reason we still went.

"I suppose we'll find out later."

His hand found mine again, and I felt my body sink into the leather seats. He lifted my hand in his and kissed the back of it.

I didn't question where we were going. I already knew we were headed to the meadow. It was the only place we could be truly alone.

I let him through my shield. There was no hiding anything now. Edward knew I liked being with the Volturi, but he knew that I loved being with him even more.

_I'm sorry_, I spoke through my thoughts.

"I understand," he replied.

My shield snapped back and forced him out; I didn't want him to see that I was almost hurt by his reply. There was no forgiveness, only understanding. I knew I wasn't going to get it – we all had our own selfish desires. Mine was that he'd always wait. His was that I'd always stay.

Two opposites were what we'd always be.

Once we made it to the edge of the forest, I chased Edward to the clearing. As we came to its edge, I sped up and jumped on his back.

"Gotcha," I whispered in his ear before kissing his neck and jumping back down.

He didn't react to my playful gesture; he just sat in the field and closed his eyes. I sat in front of him and traced patterns on his hands.

"Do you believe absence makes the heart grow fonder?" He suddenly asked.

I looked up at him to find his eyes open; looking at me with curiosity.

"Would it be driving a wedge between us if it didn't?" I answered honestly. "I mean – all we can do is miss each other when I leave."

I looked back down to his hands and was suddenly nervous. Had I been too honest? Would this make it worse?

"Maybe I could go with you next time?" This had to be the fifth time he suggested it.

"All we'll do is worry about each other if something dramatic enough happens…I don't want that. It's surprisingly a coincidence that most of the guard doesn't have mates."

"You could teach me… then you wouldn't have to worry," he said very quietly; I almost didn't hear it.

"Wouldn't you still be worrying about me?" I countered.

"I heard somewhere that you can take care of yourself." He smirked.

"You really want to learn from me? Are you sure?"

"I think the world's most powerful vampire can handle it."

I smiled back at him. "You guys _really_ need to stop referring to me as that."

"Is that a yes?" He sounded hopeful.

I looked at him for a while before answering. "How about – I'll train you but that doesn't mean you're coming next time?"

I guessed he was okay with the answer because in one second he was on top of me and I threw him across the meadow.

He landed in a crouch and I leaned into one.

"Don't hold back, Cullen."

"Never, Volturi."

We fought for a while and I gave him a couple of tips, but then he started asking details.

"Does it come down to a fight a lot?" He asked.

"Hardly. It's a rumor that we only visit to destroy. Most of the time, we don't even visit because of a crime, we do it just to check up on people."

"What if someone does something threatening when you're checking up?"

"We see a lot of things as threatening, but that doesn't mean we take it seriously. We'll amp up our eye on them …" I trailed off as Edward started to stare at something behind me.

I turned around slowly to find the sky bursting with shades of pink and orange. My skin glowed with the sunset I saw through a space in the trees.

I'd never seen a sunset so beautiful in all my years.

I felt Edward arms wrap around my waist and his lips against my ear. I swiftly turned around to face him and locked my mouth with his. The passion overwhelmed me and sent my hands into his hair as his arms continued to tighten and pull me closer against him.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually I pulled away.

"We should go back," I said breathlessly.

He pecked my forehead and we ran off back to the house.

When I got home I heard my phone ringing and realized that I left it home all day. I quickly went over to it and the caller ID told me it was my dad; there was about ten missed calls.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Bella," his voice came through the phone. He sounded odd… almost tired.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I felt myself starting to panic.

"I'll tell you when you get here. But we are currently in a state of emergency. How fast can you get down? I arranged everything for you, just go straight to the landing strip."

"Dad? What's going on?" As I asked this, I turned to look at Edward but he was talking to Alice. Thanks to their powers, I wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about.

"I can't tell you right now. You need to get over here."

"Okay. I'm on my way." I kept my eyes on Edward as I said this and hung up.

I didn't have time to think about how much I didn't want to leave; I was too panicked about whatever was going on in Volterra.

"Edward, I have to leave." There was no way to say it nicely, I'd learned.

"I heard," he sighed dramatically. I didn't need to read minds to know what he was thinking.

"Edward-"

"It wouldn't be so bad if I could go, you know."

"Did you not hear that? Emergency. As in; dangerous. As in; I don't have time to fight with you about this."

I was in a hurry. I went to the stairs but he blocked my path. "Edward…"

"Would you two stop fighting?" I heard Alice say from behind me.

I turned towards her. "Alice, I'm not putting your brother in danger like that."

"Don't you always complain that Edward thinks you can't take care of yourself? He can take care of himself too." I couldn't believe Alice was saying this. My jaw dropped. "What if I told you I don't see anything happening?"

I hesitated.

"Too bad, I already know what you're going to say." She turned me around and started pushing me up the stairs. "Just let him go."

I sighed; there was no fighting with Alice, so I said, "I still don't like it."

I was more anxious on the plane; knowing we were closer to whatever was going on in Volterra.

Edward suddenly cringed and I realized I was holding his hand a little too tight.

"What could be so terrible?" I asked quietly."What could be going on that's as bad as he made it seem?"

He was quiet, like he didn't hear me.

I didn't want to urge him on, but I couldn't help but ask what was bothering him. "Do you wish you'd stayed home?"

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it gently, then smiled at me. "No, I'm glad I'm going. I'm curious about what it's like – living like you do."

Why was he acting so weird?

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

I saw his jaw and tense and knew I was right. Alice must've seen whatever was going on back in Volterra. I didn't need Edward to explain it; if we could've done something about it, Alice would've told me.

Edward saw the understanding on my face. "I think you should hear it from your Dad. I don't have as much insight as him."

I didn't want to ask anymore, I was too scared of the answers I'd get.

We spent the rest of the flight with my head on his shoulder, and his arms wrapped around me in a comforting way. To prepare me of what was to come, I guessed.

He obviously knew what was going on and figured it was best my dad told me. I trusted him on that and was suddenly glad I let him come with me. What he knew proved why Alice was the one to persuade me to let Edward come.

The plane landed on a familiar strip a few miles from the back of the castle. It was especially familiar to me – I was just here a week ago.

"See that?" I asked him as we landed. I pointed out the window towards where you could see the back of the castle.

He nodded. "How do you get in the castle from back here?"

I laughed. "A door?"

He chuckled, embarrassed. "Oh."

I thanked the pilot - who hoped to be one of us one day, but would probably end up as dinner.

It didn't take long to get to the back door; which we had guarded heavily with fingerprint technology. I remembered when I told my dad how ridiculous it was, but he'd insisted it was nessesary.

When we got through the door I was surprised Felix wasn't there to greet me. Maybe my dad had realized I didn't need him as a personal guard anymore. I had Edward now.

We headed down the pitch black hallway and when we rounded a corner with light I saw Alex standing there. I guess Dad still needed someone to retrieve me.

"Alec!" I hugged him, Edward's hand fell from mine. "I brought Edward with me… He insisted."

Alec looked over at Edward and Edward nodded. It made me annoyed; I was the only one who didn't know what was going on.

"Will someone please explain?" I asked furiously.

"Aro will explain."

I walked beside Alec to the throne room with Edward's hand in mine.

"Where's Felix?" I asked.

Alec was quiet, his face didn't change.

I knew he heard me but I didn't ask again. The way the air felt after he didn't answer was tense, it made me uneasy and I quickened my pace.

When we reached the throne room the solemn faces around me hit me. I finally noticed no one wore their cloaks either. And Felix wasn't there again.

Dad was talking to Demetri when I entered he shook Edward's hand and hugged me tight. I didn't miss the very quick exchange of looks he passed with Edward.

"Dad what's going on?" I asked as he kept hugging me.

Finally he pulled away.

"Bella…" he sighed heavily. "Felix was killed."

No. No, no, no, no, no. "No."

The room was silent. My chest felt heavy.

"You're joking, you're all joking. This is just a big trick. You're joking, right?"

No response.

"Dad! You have to be kidding! Please tell me this is a big joke!"

I felt Edward's arm wound tight around my waist. "It's true, Bella."

"But how? Who did this?" My voice broke.

My dad answered, "He went out and there was a blue fire in the woods two hours later, he's dead. We don't know who did it. Demetri couldn't track anyone down."

This couldn't be real. Felix was my friend. My best friend. And my protector before Edward came along. After just two days of living in the castle, my dad assigned him to watch me, protect me. I remember he really scared me at first. We didn't have full conversations for years. But once I grew old enough to know about my life, he helped me through the nightmares. He was the person I was closest with other then my dad.

I found myself confused. I looked around the throne room again, the absent face was all I seemed to notice now and it sunk in.

"Oh my god. He- he's dead." I looked up at Edward, and he smiled comfortingly. It didn't make me feel better, though. I turned into Edward's chest. My breath came out in sobs, my voice stuttered and shook. "He's gone."

I felt his face press into my hair and he whispered. "Shhh, I'm here." He started rocking us in place.

**A/N - There's the first chapter of Radiate! Please review and follow and all that jazz so I can keep posting more chapters! And share with your Twilight-loving friends! Some chapters in this fanfic are this long and some are shorter, it really just depends on the events that take place. I hope everyone and enjoyed this chapter and you should hear from me again in one week! (if not, feel free to spam me)**


	2. Reasons

**Here's chapter two! Thanks for the great response on the first! It's actually been cool posting the sequel cause you basically have to read Ignite first and I've been gaining lots of new readers on that. So if you're a new Ignite fan and since it's summer you've already read it and are onto Radiate (there's no shame I started a fanfic yesterday and the only reason I haven't finished it yet is because I've been a little busy) then welcome! **

**Disclaimer - Stephanie Meyer owns all the rights and privileges that come along with The Twilight Saga. Obviously I do not own it (but don't we all wish we did?), I just enjoy borrowing her lovely characters! **

A couple days had passed since I got the terrible news. Nothing of importance had happened since, and we all just sat around the castle, trying to somehow cope.

I was in the library with Edward. I wondered if he'd be interested in some of the books. I felt bad about it being so boring for him. He didn't have memories of Felix like we did. He only felt grief because I did.

There was a knock at the door and Alec's head popped in. "Aro's calling a meeting; dress as usual. He said you could bring Edward if he wants to be there."

Then the door shut. I turned to Edward.

I had to fight with myself to make sure I didn't automatically say no.

"Do you want to go?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "You don't want me to."

"Well, you can… if you want to. I can tell you we'll probably be doing some kind of official guard duty things – are you ready for that?"

He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm ready for anything you believe I'm ready for. I won't go if it'll make you anxious." He kissed my forehead and let me go.

I groaned. Now he was making me feel bad. "Come on, I have to stop by our room first."

We ran up to our room, we'd already wasted enough time.

But I slowed down on the way down to ask Edward something that had been bothering me, "I thought everyone hated us. Since when did you get so interested in being here?" I asked.

"I don't hate you. I respect the rules. I've told you this before," he smiled.

"But why do you want to tag along all of a sudden? I don't get it."

"I figured if you were part of something like this, then maybe it wasn't so bad," he finally answered.

I laughed. "That's not exactly the answer I expected."

"Well that's the only answer you're gonna get."

We arrived in the throne room, and I slung my cloak on. With Edward's hand in mine, we stood in front of my dad, Caius, and Marcus.

"It's nice to see you here, Edward," Dad started.

Then he addressed the whole room. "I understand how horrible it is that Felix has been killed. But we have to maintain ourselves. I'm sending Bella and Demetri to the Amazon. Bella, maybe you could feed there – I don't want anyone out in these woods."

He took a few steps closer to Edward and I. "Which brings me to my next point – Edward, I think it's your decision to go or not."

My hand tightened around Edward's before he pulled it away.

He held it out to my dad. "I would like to go."

Dad looked at Edward for a minute before shaking his hand once.

He let go and announced that everyone was dismissed and told Demetri and I our flight would be overnight - so we had the rest of the day to go over things.

I walked between Edward and Demetri to our room full of maps and documents of different coven's history. We came here often, but kept the room a secret. I let Edward through my shield to let him know and he easily accepted the secret.

"Lucas told us they'd adopted a new member to their coven," Demetri told us.

_Lucas is one of our… spies_, I told Edward through my shield.

"That makes a total of four; Zafrina, Kachiri, Senna, and the newborn. We're wondering if he has any talents. Aro is also worried of his age, we're afraid he may be a little too young… He should be sending Alec too, things may get messy." He glanced to Edward as he said this, and Edward's eyes tightened slightly.

"I've been training him," I defended.

"We'll see," Demetri muttered under his breath.

I changed back to the previous subject. "Do we know why he was changed?"

He shook his head."No information on that at all. That's something else we'll need."

I checked the Amazon map. Each place they were around the most was marked off.

"I bet they'll be in the south to buy more time," I added. "We rarely get people hiding this much information."

"It shouldn't take long for me to track them down." Demetri sounded like he wanted to say more, but kept hesitating.

I turned to Edward and let him through my shield. _What on earth is he thinking?_

He looked at me sympathetically and my shield snapped back when I realized he would never tell me. Then he got up and left the room.

"Demetri, I know you miss Felix too. Maybe even more then I do – you know that's why my dad is sending us. He needs everyone else here anyways."

"Your _mate_ is not replacing Felix. I don't care how much Aro likes him – I'm not going to pretend to. And do you really think he could handle killing someone?"

I wasn't going to agree with Demetri, I thought Edward could handle anything anyone here threw at him. But I knew that Edward was not comfortable with something like that. So I didn't give Demetri any ideas, "You better hope Dad doesn't find out you said that."

"Why? Because you would do so well without me?"

I was getting really angry now. "No, I'm saying that Edward is welcome here just as much as you are! And just because Felix is _dead_ doesn't mean you can take it out on him!"

Suddenly Demetri's hand was wrapped tight around my throat. My hands clawed at his to let go.

"We _both_ lost Felix! You can't assume anything!"

I found the balance to kick Demetri's gut and he flew into a wall. A huge crash took place as he collided with it. I went towards him and stood over top of him.

"What is your problem then?!"

He quickly stood up and was right in front of me. "We don't need anyone else!"

"Hey!" My dad's voice echoed through the room.

We both turned our heads towards him. He looked really mad.

"You both need to get out of this place. Bella, I want you to go over a couple of things with Edward before you leave. The throne room will be empty."

Demetri snickered.

"And you," my dad boomed, "need to realize that I'm not replacing Felix, but Edward might be here for while. Maybe to stay."

This information didn't exactly surprise me.

"Did you put Chelsea up to this?" He asked. Not in a sarcastic way – I was positive I was the only one to ever do that to my dad – it was a genuine question.

A question I hadn't even thought about.

"Oh my gosh, did you?" I said before anyone else could get a word out.

"Of course not," he replied honestly. He looked at Demetri, "they're joined at the hip. Bella could definitely tell, she'd be able to physically feel it if Chelsea tried to tie him to us. And Bella, as cruel I can be, I'd never do that to you."

_Thank god, _I thought. He was right though. I could feel Chelsea's power around my shield just like anyone else's mental power.

"I guess we'll see how it goes then. I still think Alec should be coming."

"Too bad," I spat at him.

Then I left the room, but as a rounded a hallway corner I heard my dad ask Demetri, "When did you get like this?" Then, "You need to get yourself together."

I knew how Demetri felt. Felix and him were friends; really good friends. I hoped that this trip would help to get our minds off of it. The only thing that separated Demetri and I is that I had Edward to comfort me.

It was a lot harder to fight Edward without my shield up. He didn't have me pinned like my dad would've, but he did beat me.

When he had me pinned to the floor for the second time he started kissing a trail down my face.

I laughed. "Edward! Stop messing around!"

He stopped and looked at me seriously. "This is about what Demetri thinks isn't it?"

"No," I said with a straight face. It wasn't completely a lie…

"Your shield is still down, love," he said matter-of-factly.

I snapped it back over my mind. "You don't play fair."

"All is fair in love and war… or am I quoting someone?" He raised an eyebrow at me. It was true that I said this a lot.

I rolled my eyes. Seeing him off guard, I tackled him and didn't bother letting him through my shield.

We rolled around on the ground trying to gain dominance. When he was over top of me I managed to flip him over me and he crashed into the ground behind me. We jolted up into a crouch at the same time. I lunged at him before he could think of anything. My hand went around his neck and shoved him downwards.

"Don't take too much time to think," I tipped him.

I was about to kick him to the other side of the room, but I looked at his face – the face I loved most – and didn't want to hurt him anymore. I didn't want him hurt at all. What would happen if he got hurt tonight?

I already knew the answer to this question. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'd run to help him or kill whoever… did the same to him.

_No Bella,_ I told myself. _He can take care of himself._

I couldn't help but not like fighting him anymore. I stood straight and he got up. He knew something was up, I could see it on his face.

"Bella? What is it?"

I was quiet. I didn't want to admit how weak I felt.

His hands went to either side of my face and brought it up to look at him. "You can tell me."

I locked eyes with him. "Just- the thought of you getting hurt…" I shivered.

"I don't like it either," he said.

"Really?"

"Of course I don't. Why do you think I was so eager to want to come here?"

"So you don't really want to be here?" I asked. I was surprised and disappointed at the same time. He didn't really want to be here. He wasn't happy being here.

My eyes were still locked with his, his hands still held my face. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine.

"I want to be where ever you are," he told me.

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't mean you want to be _here_."

"I was raised to respect authority. Now I want to know how it works. I do want to be here, Bella."

Then he closed the small gap between us and kissed me. It was hard not to respond to the emotion he put into it.

"A-hem." Edward and I pulled away quickly. And I turned to see my dad in the doorway of the throne room.

"Great timing, Dad," I muttered under my breath.

"You should be on your way now," was all he said.

I started out of the room and heard Edward following behind me.

"Bella?" Dad asked.

I stopped and turned to see him still in the door frame.

"Don't forget to call on the way home… and just make sure Demetri doesn't do anything stupid."

"Don't worry, Dad. We've done this a million times," I assured him.

"I'm just making sure." He looked at Edward. "Thanks for going too, good luck."

Edward nodded.

I started to turn but Dad stopped us again. "Oh, and one more thing." He went to a door next to the throne room door and pulled out a black cloak. "You're going to need this." He gave it to Edward.

Edward took it casually and draped it over his arm. "Thanks."

Demetri met us at the back door. The cloak around Edward's arm didn't seem to faze him, but his eyes did flicker to it for a second.

On the plane, I got the chance to talk to him civilly. Edward was doing something on his laptop, so I got up from beside him and sat next to Demetri; who was starting out the window at nothing.

"My dad's worried you know," I started.

"I'm aware," he responded coldly.

"He wanted me to make sure you didn't do anything stupid. But, I want to ask you to not let me do anything stupid."

He finally looked up at me. "Why would you do anything stupid? I have to protect you over anything anyways; Man's orders."

"I know that. But," I looked over to Edward then back at Demetri, "with him, I couldn't stay… calm if something were to happen. Everyone may have orders to protect me, but it's an instinct for me to protect him."

He nodded. "I may not get it completely, and I have orders to do it anyways, but I'll make sure you don't do anything stupid." He cracked somewhat of a smile. Something I rarely saw on Demetri.

"Well we are family," I agreed.

**A/N - There is the second chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it but how will I know if you don't review? See you next week with chapter trois! (and if you don't know french that's three!) P.S. get excited cause this is getting good!**


	3. Change

**Yay for early updates! I didn't feel like waiting to post this next chapter so here's chapter three, one of the shorter chapters of the fanfic. It's one of my favourites though so I really hope everyone will enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer of course. And I much as I wish I owned it I can only borrow her lovely characters to provide you with the following...**

We made it to the Amazon after refueling in Florida.

As I was talking to our pilot about when we'd have to head back I overheard Demetri talking to Edward.

"We don't need a fight today," Demetri told him. "The second someone runs at her, she gets pushed to the back. Alec and Jane aren't here, so there's no real way to stop them. Bella will have to concentrate since one of their members can show you anything and impair your vision."

"How long do you fight?" I heard Edward ask. I knew what he really wanted to ask was 'do we kill right away?'

"Restrain them first and then we do what Bella says."

"Simple enough."

I tuned out the conversation and finished mine with our pilot. I figured we wouldn't be too long. Checking in usually took as little as five minutes.

I turned to get out of the plane and met Demetri and Edward at the end of the stairs.

"We ready?" I asked.

Edward responded by finally putting on his cloak. I could tell he was slightly nervous about it, but it looked good on him. He really looked the part.

The phrase 'a guy in a uniform' popped into my head.

_Focus, Bella._

"Give me a second," Demetri replied. He was looking for them. Then he looked at me and smiled. "South. You're getting better at this."

Then he took off and we followed.

As we ran I covered them with my shield. I wasn't sure how far Zafrina's powers could reach.

After about ten minutes of running I saw the backs of four vampires. They were running from us.

"I suggest you stop!" I yelled towards them. "We don't take running away lightly!"

They slowed and then stopped all together.

"Done running?" I asked.

Zafrina stepped forward, and I saw the newborn shy away slightly. My eyes daggered into his for a second. "We- we didn't know when you'd be arriving. We were just heading towards the closest town for a bite."

"Lie," I heard Edward say from behind me. "They've been counting on us showing up."

"We don't tolerate lying, either," I told her.

But Zafrina was staring at Edward.

"Edward Cullen has joined the Volturi," Kachiri stated and stepped up beside Zafrina. "What did you have to do to persuade him?"

I hissed and if Demetri hadn't stopped me I would've killed them right there.

"They're mates!" Demetri defended. "Now I insist you explain _that!_" he pointed a finger towards the newborn.

"We found him dying, he begged us to save him." Senna answered. She looked wearily at her coven mates while stepping in line with them.

"Lie again," Edward confirmed. "They don't know where he came from. He was told to find them after he was changed. He told them to lie for him."

"What is his name?" I asked.

"Adam."

I looked over to Adam again. He looked seriously scared, and I felt a pang of guilt when I took in his baby face.

He was simply a child. A scared, immortal child.

"Adam?" I held out my hand and he came toward me but did not take it. "Tell me who turned you."

"I- I don't know."

I turned to Edward.

"It's true. No information on his human life. He woke up in the dark and someone told him to come here."

"What his power?"

Edward was silent for moment, waiting for Adam's memorys to show up. "He can morph inanimate objects. Like when humans think they can bend spoons with their mind. It looks like a he dented arock once."

"He's too young, he's falling apart right in front of me."

"Rid him," I heard Kachiri say. "He's causing us too much trouble. I don't like having one as young as him around."

"Sound good?" I asked Demetri.

He nodded and I snapped off the child's head then lit the body on fire. He didn't scream, but I wasn't exactly sure if he even knew what was going on.

"Let us know if there is any more trouble," I told the coven. There was obviously something weird going on, but I recognized the situation. Some nomads liked to wreak havoc on covens by doing things like this. I started to turn but stopped and added, "And just don't lie again, it makes our jobs a lot easier."

I started off but Demetri was still behind me. "I also suggest you don't question the people we bring onto our guard… especially when they're mates."

Once we were a mile away from the coven, Edward thanked Demetri.

"Yeah well, don't mention it. That wouldn't have gone as smoothly without you there."

So Edward wouldn't have to say anything more – because I knew Demetri would want him to – I added, "Congrats, you didn't do anything stupid."

"But you almost did."

I thought of him having to hold me back. "Thanks for that, too," I told him.

"Don't mention it."

Edward grabbed my hand and we kept heading towards the plane. I squeezed his and smiled up at him.

Back at the castle Demetri was telling the rest of the guard about our trip. "Ultimately, it's a good thing Edward was there, or there would've been a lot of mistakes."

"There's no way we could've gotten any other information out of him. He didn't remember anything of his human life. It was almost like he was brainwashed before being turned and then that was all that remained," Edward confirmed.

"I killed him," I added.

My dad sighed. "Alright then, I don't think we should be worried of anything suspicious. It's probably just a bored nomad. We've seen it before. No one is making any harsh decisions until we see it again soon."

I agreed with what he was saying, we had seen it before. I saw nodding heads around the room, also agreeing. Edward seemed to go along with it.

Dad looked like he was about to dismiss all of us but then Jane took a tiny step forward. "I realize this may not be everyone's top priority at the moment, but I can't help but point out all the dark eyes around here."

She was right, I hadn't fed for almost two weeks. And after a look around the room it seemed everyone was in the same boat, even Edward. No one liked to be caught off guard and not have fed for a while. Soon the room felt very uneasy.

Dad nodded and turned to Heidi. "Go now."

She left hurriedly.

Then he turned to Edward and I. "I don't want you out in those woods, not after Felix."

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, we can take care of ourselves-"

"We thought Felix could, too," I heard Demetri say.

Dad kept his eyes on me. "He's right, you'll have to go out of town…. Somewhere I can trust."

After everything that went on this kind of made my annoyed. "You _do_ realize you just sent Heidi out without thinking it through this much," I countered. In all honesty, I was offended by his gesture. He knew Heidi could take care of herself, so why didn't he see that I could too. Plus, I had Edward. We made a good team.

"Heidi goes farther than you think, and she never goes to the same place twice. She'll be fine."

I sighed impatiently.

"How does Africa sound?" He suggested.

"How does staying here sound?" I threw back.

Suddenly Edward's hand tightened around mine. "He's right, you know. It's not safe for you to hunt here…. If someone is still after all of us."

I couldn't even remember what he said. It wasn't that I was caught off guard, just surprised. He could've used any word to refer to the guard but he chose 'us'. The thought didn't make me angry or sad like it had in the past; it made my stomach do little, happy flips.

And so I went willingly to the plane, and sat hand in hand with Edward as it took off to Africa.

I remembered to when Alice made me let Edward come along, and reminded myself to call and thank her. Having Edward with me made everything feel so much easier.

My worry for Edward joining the Volturi was never really the danger. It was always the best and most practical excuse my brain could think of. This reason just made sense; I loved Edward, and I didn't want to put him in danger - six months ago it especially made sense. All in all it was really the reputation of the Volturi. We were everything Edward learned to be afraid of, everything we did was a reason to run and hide and follow the rules.

The possibility of him getting hurt was still there, and obviously I didn't like it. But in reality, I didn't want him here because I didn't think he'd be happy. He wasn't meant to be here, he shouldn't belong. Seven months ago he watched me kill an immortal child and almost hated me for it. But somehow, he was starting to belong. I loved that he enjoyed it, but I still didn't understand the change.

Vampires didn't change. When I met Edward he only brought out another side of me; he never 'changed' me.

I had to think that maybe even Edward was surprised that he was enjoying it.

**A/N - I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know your thoughts or predictions by reviewing! Thanks so much for all the great response and reviews so far, I've been really hopeful that Ignite fans have been liking this sequel and I really appreciate the reviews and favourites and follows!**


	4. Crash and Burn

**Here's chapter 4! For those wondering, it's 1, 882 words; great for those who like longer chapters!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga obviously belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I've just borrowed her lovely characters to entertain myself and my readers.**

It was quiet with just Edward and I on the plane. The only sound to be heard was the steady thrum of our pilot's heart.

"Us, huh?" I asked.

He had to have known I'd bring it up sometime. Considering himself part of the Volturi made me feel like we were that much closer to being equal.

"Yes, us," he replied, not seeming to be phased at all.

"Are you happy?" Our eyes still hadn't met through the conversation. I stared at our hands linked together between us.

"I am… Are you happy?

I finally looked up to find him looking down at me. Anxiety filled his features as he awaited my answer.

I smiled wide. "Yes. I am happy."

He leaned down to kiss my forehead and my eyes closed with pleasure of his touch. When he pulled away I let my head fall to his shoulder.

It wasn't until then that I remembered his family back in Forks. I let him through my shield, not knowing how to put my worry into words.

_What will they think?_

"I trust them. I think they'll be happy as long as I am."

_But they don't think very highly of the guard__…_

He laughed. "I can tell you one thing though, they do think highly of _you_."

_They do?_

"Yes. I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either."

I nodded and my shield pushes Edward out.

"So, Africa huh? I've never had a proper lion before."

I laughed. "I've practically just started this animal thing. I think we're both in for a treat."

After reaching Africa my dad sent us a map over my phone to the area with the least amount of civilization. It wasn't that hard. There were plenty of places here that weren't populated.

With the map was a message; _do not worry if you come across a vampire scent. I've sent Joshua to the area._

Joshua was one of our spies, but today he was a body guard. Dad had probably sent someone to watch Heidi, too. He was obviously more worried about what happened to Felix then he let on.

It still hurt that Felix was gone, but having Edward made it easier. He was kind of a distraction from the hole in the guard.

Josh kept a few miles distance from us while we hunted. Edward told me he could still hear some of his thoughts from this far away. He was worried about keeping an eye on us. Apparently my dad placed a great responsibility on his shoulders.

After two lions I felt full, almost too full, so we perched up in a nearby tree. It was nice to enjoy alone time with Edward.

"I guess I'm going to have to drop out of high school before I've even finished." I sighed. I was a little disappointed, but I had to admit that I enjoyed having some excitement back.

"It's nice to actually do something. I didn't realize how confined I felt. I never thought the Volturi was the way to go," Edward said.

He was right. Most vampires didn't believe how much freedom we actually got. But I suddenly felt guilty, he wanted to do things but I knew the one he'd have to do soon was a consequence in his mind.

"Remember how mad you were when you swathe trial that first time you came to visit? When I killed the child?"

He nodded, not grasping what I was getting at.

I went on, "do you still feel that way? About killing our own kind, I mean?"

He paused, and I braced myself for the response I was dreading. "I think… that you do what you have to, and I respect that."

His answer wasn't what I expected but I knew he still didn't completely understand. I couldn't beat around the bush anymore.

"We sort of have this… initiation," I started. "If you really want to be in the guard - because you still change your mind - you have to kill the next criminal yourself…" I trailed off, carefully watching Edward's reaction. "I know you don't like killing humans… I wasn't sure… Killing your own kind…"

Edward seemed almost laid-back about the idea. He didn't seem disconnected from the subject, but not _happy_ about it either. "Killing criminals; I suppose that's something you don't know about me yet."

_What does that even mean?_ "What are you talking about?"

He sighed. "It was back in the 50s. I… 'rebelled' against Carlisle I suppose. I justified feeding on humans by just killing criminals; I tried to save more lives than I took..." then he trailed off. I guessed he was remembering, and then a look of disgust flashed across his face.

It was possibly the worst thing that could've happen. It was these times when I remembered Edward _wasn't_ comfortable with killing, he wasn't brought up as a human-hunting vampire. _He didn't belong._ It made me upset, to say the least.

"You're not comfortable with it." It wasn't a question.

I hopped down from the branch in the tree we were in and started slowly in the direction of our plane. But I didn't get very far.

A familiar hand wrapped around my wrist and I stopped and sighed. "Edward, I don't want to make you do anything." I turned to face him, about to say 'you don't have to', but he put his other hand to my mouth.

"Just listen for a second. I'm not going to tell you that I _want_ to kill someone. But, I will if it's necessary."

I was a little shocked that he seemed willing, but I was still skeptical. "I don't want you to do it for me either. And don't give me some crap about how you'd do anything for me-"

His laugh cut me off.

I glared at him. "What?"

"I just love you." His eyes stared into my soul. "And as much as I would do anything for you, I promise that I've made this decision for me. How many times have I told you that I want to be here?" he asked jokingly.

I hesitated; unsure how to respond. "You're happy?"

"I've never been happier." He smiled down at me.

I smiled too. "I'm happy that you're happy."

We ran back to the plane, and I was anxious to get back. I wanted to be there for everyone right now, and I couldn't exactly do that in Africa.

"So this is it, huh?" Edward suddenly asked. We had been sitting comfortably in silence on the plane.

I looked at him; curious.

"Running around, taking airplanes to corners of the world. Why didn't you bring me sooner?"

"Because it's dangerous." The statement wasn't true, but it was still my automatic answer.

His face drew a smirk, and I wondered if he could see through the excuse. "I don't see any danger yet."

"Don't be so cocky, Cullen. You've been lucky so far."

He nodded. "I am pretty lucky."

I tried to drive the conversation out of the danger aspect and mentioned something else that was on my mind. "You're lucky they like you so much, too."

"Who?"

"My family – you've really impressed them, you know. I'm glad you all get along so well… I was a little worried about it at first."

"Really?" he asked. He seemed genuinely surprised.

I laughed. "I don't know, you tell me mind-reader."

"Don't laugh at me! I honestly didn't realize…"

He had the cutest embarrassed look on his face that I could help but giggle. "You're adorable."

Edward snorted. "That is possibly the least manly thing you could ever call me." He just glared at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, what would you like to be called? Humor me."

He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable.

I grabbed his face, and his arms fell to my waist automatically.

"I agree, you fit more into the beautifully handsome category. Or maybe the sexy category."

_Not even maybe, _I thought,_ more like definitely the sexy category._

"Maybe?" He raised an eyebrow – even with my shield he could practically read me like a book.

"Yeah, _maybe_."

"Well, I think you are beautifully sexy." If I had blood running through my veins, I would have most definitely blushed, but I kept my grip on him and suddenly realized how close our bodies were against each other. His eyes turned dark as lust filled them.

Then he closed the gap between our faces and his lips pressed up slowly against mine. They molded against each other as Edward kept the kiss slow.

These kisses from Edward were my favourite; full of love and passion.

I heard Edward's phone vibrate in his pocket but he ignored it and growled as my hands started tugging on his hair.

Suddenly we were broken apart by a sudden shift of the plane. It lurched us forward – which was hard to do to a vampire – and I felt the plane falling downwards.

"What the heck?!" I had to yell over the sound of air rushing by the plane. I ran to the cockpit to find our pilot struggling. "What's going on?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Volturi. The engines; they're dead, they've all failed!" He was in a panic trying to fix what could not be fixed.

"Bella…" I heard Edward say and I left the cock pit to find the back of the plane on fire.

_Of course it's fire_.

"We need to jump," I told Edward. Then I ran back to the cockpit to find our pilot passed out in his chair. "There's no hope for him, we have to get out of here." I spoke at lightning speed as we kept getting closer to the ground. I checked the map and radar to find us flying over the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. There were no planes around us, no land, just sea.

Edward grabbed my hand in the next second and we were flying out of plane and then plunging deep into the sea.

This is when I was grateful for being a vampire.

When I burst up through the water's surface, Edward was right next to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked; trying to look me over.

"I'm fine, Edward. Are _you_ alright?"

"Yeah, I think I'm alright."

"What I really want to know is how that happened. Planes don't just catch fire."

As if on cue I saw the plane crash into the water only a few miles away. I pulled Edward with me to get a little farther from the destruction in case any other planes would be flying by soon. If they saw two people treading water in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it wouldn't go over very smoothly.

"We have to get to land," I said. I was in the survival mode I never thought I'd have to use.

I looked around me and knew exactly where we were. Syracuse, Italy was about two hundred miles ahead.

"Bella?" Edward asked anxiously. I turned to him and saw worry written all over his face. "Do you know where land would be?"

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry, just follow me."

Then I let go of his hand and took towards Syracuse.

**A/N- there you go! Let me know what you thought my review, it's always super appreciated! I'm SO glad everyone has been seeming to like Radiate and I've been loving reading everyone's reviews! Thanks for the love :) **

**PS - The deal today is that I'm now re-writing a chapter for the third time and all reviews are appreciated now more then ever**


	5. Threat

**Chapter five, for you! If anyone is curious, it took me a whole week to get past the writers block I had. That chapter is finally finished so now I feel ready enough to post this one. One more thing: It's a long chapter!**

Swimming wasn't so bad. It wasn't like we got tired or needed to climb up from underwater for air.

As we swam through the familiar sea, I remembered why it was so familiar. When I was a newborn, Felix took me out here and got me to swim the whole thing. He had me memorize practically every inch of it. I knew it changed often, as nature does, but there were key things that always stayed the same. It wasn't until after I knew the pool of water like the back of my hand that I found out everyone else on the guard knew it just as well.

We reached land in just under a couple of hours and docked ourselves at a deserted cliff. Soaking wet, we sat beside each other.

"It'll still take us a good amount of time to get back to Volterra…I'm not really sure what to do." I said. I'd never been stuck in a situation like this before. "I can't even call. My stupid phone won't work!" I tossed my phone into the water in front of me. "This has never happened before… oh my god. Edward what if they think we're dead?!"

Suddenly my face was in Edward's hands. "Calm down, love. Just breathe."

I nodded and swallowed thickly.

"It's alright, okay? We'll just use my phone."

"But the water-"

"Isn't a big deal because my phone has a water-proof battery," he finished.

I smiled. "That's oddly convenient."

"I'm nothing if not thorough." He pulled a wet phone out of his pocket and handed to me.

I immediately flipped it open and dialed the number as Edward arm wound around my waist.

I started to dial Felix's number and then realized I would get no answer. So I had to hang up and dial a different number.

"Hello?" My dad's monotone voice answered, and I knew he thought we were in trouble.

"It's me, Dad. Edward and I are safe."

"Bella! We were so worried! Where are you? Should I get Demetri to come and get you?"

"That's hardly necessary, Dad. We're somewhere on the coast of Syracuse. It should be a few hours before we make it back. I never thought knowing the sea like the back of my hand would ever come in handy."

I saw Edward's eyebrow lift at my statement and I shrugged at him.

"I'm glad you're safe, but… how did it happen?" he asked.

"I honestly have no idea, Dad. We were in the plane, and everything was fine and all of a sudden it lurched forward – like really bad turbulence. The engines failed and then the plane was on fire. Edward and I had to jump."

It was silent on the other end for a bit too long for my liking and I could hear anything going on.

"Dad?"

"Sorry, Bella. I just want you to remember to never ignore a coincidence. Be careful, I'll see you soon."

Then the line went dead.

I handed Edward his phone back. He would've heard the other line and I knew he wasn't too sure of what my dad had told me. But I was pretty positive that we should get home sooner rather than later.

Edward took my hand in his and we started back to Volterra. The sky stayed unusually cloudy as we wound through Italy, but I was grateful for it.

"Edward?" I asked after we were about half-way to Volterra.

"Yes, love?" He squeezed my hand, probably being able to tell how anxious I was to get home now.

"What do you think he meant… about not ignoring coincidences?" I asked.

I had been trying to think of something, but my mind couldn't find the answer.

"I think… maybe- I don't know..."

He kept hesitating, and I had to wonder if maybe he had figured this out an hour ago. "Just tell me Edward."

"What if someone is trying to pick us off?"

I almost stopped, but then I remembered where we were going and quickened my pace. If Edward was right I wanted to be home _now._

A thousand possibilities finally took residence in my mind, and Edward's suggestion was the worst of them. What scared me the most was that the of someone picking us off was entirely possible. My legs pushed me even faster. I wasn't losing anymore of my family, and especially not Edward. I wouldn't live with myself is anything happened-

"Bella!" Edward called out my name. And by the way he said it, it wasn't the first time.

My head snapped to look at him.

"Calm down. I may not be right, let's just get back and I'll talk to Aro."

I nodded.

"Where'd Joshua go?" He asked suddenly.

Joshua. He was supposed to watch out for us, make sure something like this didn't happen.

"I don't know." My voice came out strangled, and I paused to calm myself down. "He either helped or he's dead or he got distracted - in which case he's a dead man anyways. If he's not back soon after we are, Demetri will have to go out to find him."

I immediately didn't like my own idea of any of us being out of the castle.

I heard Edward's phone buzz in his pocket again.

His paced slowed as I wouldn't let go of his hand to let him answer and he had to use his other hand.

"Alice," he muttered before hitting a button and holding it to his ear. "Hello?"

_Edward Cullen I can't believe you didn't answer your phone! You do realize both you and Bella disappeared for at least five minutes! Five minutes, Edward! Bella saved you guys back there!_

Listening to Alice talk on the other side made me grateful I could think quickly.

"Alice, I'm sorry. Look-"

She cut him off, _Esme wants us all to fly up, she already got us a week off of school. We're all really worried. Carlisle says we could be there by tonight. _Edward looked over to me and I shook my head.

No one was getting in or out of that castle if I could help it.

"No! You can't come over here, okay? You all need to stay in Forks. It's not good over here right now. Just stay there."

_Look, Edward, we've heard a couple things recently and we just want to check on you._

Edward looked over to me, his eyes begging for a way out of it. He and I both knew that it was not a good time for his family to be visiting.

I held out my hand and took the phone.

"Alice, it's Bella."

"Bella!" Alice's voice sang from the other end. "We miss you so much, please we just want to come up for a couple days and then we'll be out of your hair… or you and Edward could just come home…" The panic in her voice shocked me.

"I'm begging you to stay where you are. Stay in Forks, keep a low profile if you can. Don't worry either, alright? We're handling it."

Then I heard a different voice, Emmett's. "C'mon! I miss my little sis!"

"Emmett!" Alice hissed along with other voices.

"Am I on speaker?" I asked.

Then the phone was taken from me and Edward had it against his ear again.

"Bella said we're handling it, I'll call you soon." Then he hung up.

I looked ahead to find that we were a little closer to Volterra then we thought. I could see the castle clearly and wondered what kind of state the inside was at the moment.

Edward and I ran a little faster once seeing it so close.

Once inside the city's walls, we walked at a human pace; knowing we were finally safe.

"Are you alright?" I asked him with a low voice.

He nodded. "I just want them to stay home…" I could tell he wanted to say more, but he kept quiet.

"You don't want your family to see you wearing one of these?" I asked gesturing down at the black cloak still around my shoulders.

He gave me a small smile, and I knew I was right. As much as Edward wanted to be here, we both didn't know how his family was going to react yet.

"…Supposing Alice hasn't already seen it." Edward spoke up, seeming to finish my thought.

We stepped into an alley and I led him down until it was pitch black and we slid down the grate. Edward started to continue down the hall but I stopped him.

"Hey." I smiled up at him and smoothed his face with my thumbs. His eyes closed as I whispered soothingly. "It'll be fine, okay?"

He nodded lightly, keeping his eyes closed.

"We'll figure it out and it'll all be fine," I told him.

His eyes opened then and a small smile came out. "Aren't we always fine?"

I gave him a chaste kiss and we continued down dark hallways and through elevators until we reached the throne room.

Everyone was on edge as they turned to see who entered the door, and then relaxed when they knew it was only Edward and I. I was happy to see Heidi safe in the corner by Demetri and everyone looked like they had fed so they could go a couple of weeks now.

"Dad, I think you should listen to Edward for a minute," was the first thing I said. I wanted everyone to know how possible his theory was… how _exact _ it sounded. "No," I corrected myself. "Everyone needs to hear this."

Edward's presence in the room suddenly changed. It felt like _he_ owned the room.

"I think maybe… someone is trying to pick us off. And as far as I know, that's never happened before."

"It hasn't," my dad chimed in.

"So what is this, a… _war_?" Heidi asked.

"Not that we couldn't handle a war," Jane said.

"I don't think that we should jump into using such big words yet, we don't _know _anything yet," I defended. A war is not what I wanted.

"But we have to protect ourselves!"

"We can't do anything so hasty."

Everyone started talking at once.

"Excuse me!" My dad shouted; silencing us all. "No one knows exactly what's going on or where things are happening and we will take no action until someone takes action against us. Our laws are still intact and I don't think a war would protect ourselves from humans… or protect them from us. Nothing happens until I say so. And what I say now is that no one is leaving this castle unless something happens in these city's walls."

"Dad, exposure-"

"Hardly happens and if people know what's good for them, they won't try anything," he interrupted. "Edward, is it possible your family could do us a favour?"

"We can't ask them to fly up here." I confirmed before he could suggest anything.

He continued like he didn't hear me. "Maybe they could get out to friends that we're increasing security around here? To make sure that people don't do anything too dangerous while I'm trapping you all here."

"What a good way to put it," I muttered under my breath, since no one else could get away with it.

"My family is not persuasive people but I'll honestly try," he… laughed?

Then my dad laughed. _Okay what is up with this?_ "I trust that you'll try."

"Hey, Dad?" I asked, trying to get some normal behavior going on. "Where's Joshua?"

His eyes darkened as he realized what I had earlier.

"I'm aware he'll be here soon. I suppose Edward could take care of him."

I tried not to wince, but it went unnoticed as everyone realized that it was about to be official. I thought… or hoped that Edward would have more time to think it out. I looked over to him to try and find some peace for my mind but he didn't even look nervous about it.

Edward's eyes went from amber to fire and I lifted my shield all together in desperation. _Please tell me what you're thinking._

His eyes darted to mine as the room's atmosphere fell casual. He whispered low so now one would hear, "If someone is around to protect you, they need to do their job. If he had anything to do with what went on today, I'm surprised he has the guts to show up. _I'm not letting you lose one more person in this room_."

My shield snapped back over. It wasn't used to being compeltely off.

I'd never really seen Edward act this way. But I liked it. I always had someone protecting me; but Edward protected me because I was his. Just like how I protected him because he was mine.

"I'm going to tell you until you get it; I want to be here."

Just then, we heard a set of elevator doors open and Dad looked at Demetri and Alec. They nodded and left the room.

I wasn't sure if it would be Joshua, but Edward would've said if it wasn't him. But then I heard his voice struggling against Alec. He would die whether he took part in setting our plane on fire or not, but _I_ needed the information… we all needed the information to keep ourselves safe.

The doors burst open and Joshua was being dragged in. He was limp, but he kept shouting.

"Give me my sight back! I didn't do anything! Where are you taking me?!"

They threw him to the middle of the room and we all took form in front of him as Alec him back his senses.

When he could see again, he slowly got up off the floor. He looked around the room but when his eyes landed on Edward and I he looked like he had seen a ghost.

My dad and Edward were having a silent conversation and when I saw Edward nod, Aro held out his hand towards Joshua.

When he let go, Dad finally spoke out loud. "So now that we know everything about each other, tell me one thing… did you have anything do with setting that plane on fire?"

He swallowed. "I- I did."

I almost charged at him right then, but Edward held me back.

"What about Felix?" I got out.

"Yes."

Edward's grip on me tightened.

"Who told you to do this?" Demetri asked. It was the one thing we all wanted to know.

Edward and my Dad exchanged a look before Joshua said, "James is a good liar."

Then Edward was gone from my side and Joshua's head was rolling on the floor.

**A/N - *hides behind computer* Thoughts? Likes? Dislikes? Concerns? Comments? Predictions? Review!**


	6. Tick Tick Tick

**Disclaimer: Of course Stephanie Meyer owns all rights and privileges that go with The Twilight Saga, I simply borrow her characters to provide you with the following... **

I sat in the room above the throne room. The empty shelves where my journals used to sit made me feel eerie. It was weird to remember something that felt as though it had never happened.

I needed time alone for once. Between school in Forks and traveling back and forth I felt as though I stretched myself too thin. After all the craziness that happened over those past few days, I was grateful that we wanted the vampire world quiet for a while. Thanks to the Cullens everyone seemed to be laying low because of our so called 'heightened security.'

Edward was somewhere in the castle, probably talking to his family for the third time in the past two days. I knew he still had yet to tell them that he was an official member of the guard now. I felt bad that he wanted to hide it. But we both agreed that they shouldn't have to worry about me or him right now.

They thought that we would be coming home soon. Alice hadn't confirmed that she did or didn't know if we were telling the truth so we didn't bring it up to her. I figured that if she really knew what was going on, she was keeping quiet to help us.

Edward had told me if we stalled any longer then they'd come and visit without warning. I knew he didn't want them walking in on him murdering someone one day. But I assured him they wouldn't be disappointed if they loved him; he was helping protect them.

He didn't bother hiding the rush after taking Joshua's head. Most of us got it, but it worried me that he might not enjoy it so much. Plus, I had to admit that watching him do it was really hot.

All I could do was hope that when the Cullens found out, they wouldn't be mad. They had become a second family to me and I loved them just as much as my own – they were becoming my own. I knew Edward loved them too and the selfish side of me was hoping that if they were mad he'd stay with me. But the reasonable side of me was prepared to be left here without him. I wouldn't be able to go back to Forks; not anymore.

Finding the empty shelves too mocking for my liking I left the room and crept back down the stairs. Plus I wanted to know what the Cullens had been up to.

It didn't take me long to find Edward. All I had to do was follow the sound of a piano. I sat next to him and watched his fingers as I laid my head on shoulder; feeling mentally exhausted.

I felt his lips touch my hair. "How are you, love?"

I sighed.

"That bad?" He chuckled.

"Just tired. I've never wished I could sleep before."

He sighed too. "They still want to come up, you know. I keep having to assure them that it's best for them to stay put."

"It's better for them to stay. They wouldn't even be able to see us with everything going on. I hardly even see you…" I admitted.

The music stopped but I continued looking down as Edward's arms wrapped around me.

"I can't tell you I've been doing much. Just watching." He laughed.

"I know, it's all any of us have been doing. Your family really got the word out for us. How'd they do it so fast?" I was honestly curious about this.

"Carlisle knows a lot of vampires. I'm surprised humans haven't heard."

I laughed but when he wasn't along with me I looked up to find him serious.

"I'm afraid that if those words can travel that quickly – the people my family has talked to – and Zafrina was so interested that I was with you-"

"You think they already know," I finished his rambling.

He nodded. "That's why they want to come up so bad. I don't think they believe it."

"Do you think Alice has seen anything?" I asked.

"I honestly can't tell, maybe they should come up. Maybe it'll be best for them to see it."

His face was creased with worry and I reached up to smooth it out.

"Not until two weeks are up. Sorry." I kissed him chastely and got up. "I'm replacing Alec soon to watch with Jane; I should go."

He caught my waist as I went to leave and kissed me again. "Be safe."

"With how quiet it's been?" I laughed.

"It doesn't matter. I still want you to be safe."

He kissed me again and I pulled away from him.

"I'll see you later."

Edward sat back down at the piano and a familiar tune came out of it. I stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. His eyes were closed, but the tune came out perfectly.

"Edward?"

His eyes opened and he looked over at me. The music never stopping.

"I love you," I told him.

A crooked smile appeared on his face. "I love you too."

I left and made my way down to the front gate and silently replaced Alec. When he was out of sight I saw Jane smiling at me from the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked her; wondering why on earth she was silently smiling at me like that.

She shook her head but was still smiling. "You're lucky, that's all."

I smiled then too. "I am. But why exactly would you say that?"

"The other day… Demetri was about ready to kill Edward, but he's really grown on all of us."

"Good," I said a little too harshly.

She laughed. "Your dad always liked him… Felix too."

I winced a little and hoped she didn't see it. "Not always…"

"He just didn't like watching you grow up; none of us did really. But he'd be proud if he could see you right now."

"I-"

"Bella! Jane!" I was about to tell Jane I was glad she thought so, but our heads snapped into the direction our names were frantically being called and then Demetri, Edward, and Alec appeared.

"What? What's going on?" Jane asked, and I expanded my shield just in case she decided to do anything.

Edward's hand unconsciously slipped his hand into mine and looked at us seriously. "Listen."

It was dead silent until I heard rushing footsteps somewhere in the middle of town. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but we were going to find out.

I looked up to the sky and nodded. "Lead the way Demetri. Hoods up."

We reached an alley where we would not be seen and I left them behind to get in closer to the mob of people. In the centre was a dead woman lying on the ground. Her neck was ripped to shreds, and I couldn't hear any blood left pumping through her heart.

As quickly as I could without drawing attention I made my way back to tell the others.

"Someone's fed inside the castle walls," I told them.

"That's an idiot move," Jane mumbled.

"Someone needs to get the front of the city to catch him if he tries to leave."

"What about this being one of the safest cities in the world?" Alec pointed.

I looked to Edward. "You have to make sure no one saw anything. Stay around here. Alec and I will stay too, he might still be around. Jane and Demetri, you should…"

I trailed off. There was a faint ticking sound my ears wouldn't stop focusing on. They made it sound so much louder and closer then the group of terrified humans nearby.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

I took a step into the direction it was coming from; completely opposite from the people, in the depths of the alley we stood in. It sounded like a watch.

"Bella?" I heard Edward try to bring me back and I put a finger on my lip and then pointed to my ear; trying to get them to listen too.

"Don't you hear that?" I asked very low.

I sped closer to the sound and tried to stay as quiet as possible.

I heard everyone else follow behind me and guessed that they could hear it as well.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Then Edward spoke even quieter, "I hear more than just their watch."

We got deeper into the alley until the noise became the only thing I could hear and an uncompleted wall of stones lay.

I decided to finally take action. "Oh come on, we know you're hiding. Come out before we have to do this the hard way."

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

"Hard way it is. Jane, just wait until we get back I don't want to attract unnecessary attention."

I knew just the mention of Jane would have him bounding right out of his hiding spot. I caught the back of his shirt without effort.

He kept struggling in my grip so I tightened it.

"I find it very disrespectful that you think its okay to feed in our city. I'm sure my father would too, actually."

"Isabella Volturi I'd love to find out," he threw back.

I pushed him to the ground between me and the rest and he looked up to see who else was with me. His eyes darted straight to Edward.

"Oh this is good. I wasn't going to believe it till I saw it with my own eyes."

Rolled my eyes.

"It's everywhere, my friend. Aro's newest addition is a Cullen, mated to the most famous Volturi." He said it mockingly.

I was used to criminals trying to sass their way into things, but this guy obviously really wanted to die.

"Alec. Shut him up," I announced before anyone could say anything more.

The guy went under immediately and Demetri slung him over his back.

On the short way back to the castle I couldn't help saying something.

"What the hell is wrong with people? Am I missing a serious memo here or something?" I asked.

"Bella," Alec started calmly, "I think you're forgetting that you were the newest member of the guard before Edward."

It slowly clicked as we entered a passage into the castle. I'd never witnessed someone joining the guard. I was their newest member for almost two hundred years.

I felt Edward's hand graze across the small of my back as he whispered, "it's alright, love," very quietly.

I smiled softly at him before bursting through the throne room doors. Dad looked up, unsurprised, from his chair and stood. He immediately looked to Edward and they touched hands briefly.

"I see," he muttered. "I guess I'll do research of my own."

Then his eyes flickered to me and his face looked worried. "You alright, Bella?"

The corners of my mouth turned up for a second then relaxed. "Peachy, Dad."

Edward's hand slipped into mine.

"Let him go, Alec," dad ordered.

The vampire was probably around 38 when he was turned, which was an old age to be turned and I wondered how it happened.

As Alec let him go he slowly got up from where we threw him on the floor. He looked like he was thinking about bolting. But then his eyes locked with Edward and he stayed put.

Dad stepped towards him. "I'd welcome you here but I've been made aware that you already know where you are."

"I do," he answered without any emotion.

"What is your name?" Dad asked.

"Michael."

"Well Michael, I need you to give me one piece of information - who sent you here?"

I didn't even think of this, what if Michael was connected to the newborn in the Amazon? It could all be connected.

But then Michael's eyes darkened and he answered, "We all rebel on our own terms."

"Rebels?" I asked without thinking.

His eyes flashed from Dad's to mine and he started approaching me. Before he got five feet away, Edward was in front of me and Michael fell to the ground, screaming. I looked over to Jane and recognized that she was using her power.

Dad held up a hand after a few seconds to stop her.

When the pain faded, Michael looked up from the ground and straight at me. "Dozens of rebels. All day, every day we rebel against the likes of you all. But I think _you_ may just survive us, you're… well protected. Because no one would ever let any harm come to Isabella Volturi."

I stepped out from behind Edward's shoulder to approach him myself. When I came to him I knelt down to meet his eye level.

"We all live because I protect my city." I looked back to Jane and was about to nod at her but while my head was turned, Michael decided to grab the back of my neck.

Before anyone could recognize what was going on I grabbed his arm and turned myself underneath it to face him. Once we were standing I kept a hold on his arm and twisted it around his back.

"I'm afraid to inform you that you won't be able to pass on any messages to your fellow rebels." I ripped off his arm and he fell onto his stomach. Then I pushed my foot into his back and grabbed his head. "But you should know that I protect myself."

With one twist his head was off his body.

"I hope we got all the information we need," Heidi said.

"We did," Dad confirmed.

"What about where the rest of the rebels are?" I asked.

"Except that," Edward said.

Dad's eyes went downward for a brief second. "We don't need that."

"What are you talking about? Of course we do!" I countered.

"We're not starting this. If we start it, we become the bad guys. If they start it, they stay rebels."

"Or we could just prevent it all together," Jane suggested.

"Not this time."

"_This time_?" I asked.

"Yes." He was done with the topic as he turned to Demetri and asked him to dispose of the body.

The whole atmosphere around me changed. I'd never experienced something like this before and it was safe to say that I felt like the weak one despite telling Michael I wasn't.

Somewhere a group of vampires were planning the death of the guard. Edward and I were almost a successful mission for them… Felix was.

There was no way to prevent them trying and we couldn't get to them first.

I just prayed to whatever God there was; that my family would be spared.

**A/N - There's a longer chapter for you all! I hope you've been enjoying this fanfic as much as I've enjoyed writing it for you all. As always, thanks to everyone who's been review, following and favoriting! Next chapter is probably my favorite so keep a look out for in a week!**


	7. Safe

**Disclaimer - Obviously I do not own The Twilight Saga, I just like borrowing SM's characters.**

"Hi everyone," I said hesitantly, bracing myself for the chorus of loud hellos I'd receive.

Edward and I were on the phone with all the Cullens. Just yesterday we found out there were rebels somewhere and my Dad gave us specific instructions not to speak of it - whether they already knew or not.

"We're so worried about you two. You can't come home yet?" Esme's concerned voice came through the phone.

My head hit the table in front of me and Edward rubbed my back as he answered.

"Sorry, not for another week."

_Don't say anything, they can't know_, I told myself_. Don't say anything, not yet. Just keep your mouth shut._

"We heard about someone feeding in the city, is that true?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, did you get to rip his head off?!" Emmett interrupted.

"Of course not, Emmett!" Esme's voice rang.

I banged my head on the table a few more times before Edward's hand decided to become a cushion. He looked at me sympathetically.

I let him through my shield, _I hate lying to them._

He nodded and mouthed 'I do too.'

"How're things over there?" Edward asked, changing the topic.

"It was sunny yesterday, Alice and I went up to Canada," Jasper answered.

"Oh Edward, I found a beautiful house out in the woods here! I'm just waiting for the permit to restore it. It'll be so beautiful!" Esme gushed, slightly interrupting Jasper.

"Wait, where is Alice?" I asked.

"I think she misses you two, she hasn't been the best lately. She's out hunting right now," Jasper replied.

"You should invite her up there, I think she'd really love it," Esme suggested.

"I'm not sure… That's exactly safe right now. No one's getting in or out of the city until two weeks are up," I countered and then realized I said a little too much. My shield pushed Edward out. The Cullens just thought we were heightening security and Edward was staying until I could go home.

I looked from the phone to Edward's face; my eyes wide. His were sympathetic.

"We have to tell them sometime," he said in a normal voice volume. I knew he was doing it on purpose so they'd hear. He made the decision to tell them.

"Tell us what?" I heard Rosalie's voice ask.

They'd want to come up the moment the words came out of his mouth so I made a suggestion; "Would you guys want to come over after this week? Once things die down? We swear we'll explain."

Edward squeezed my hand.

"What's going on?" Carlisle asked.

Edward sat up straight. "There are a few things I need to tell you. I'd like to do it in person. Just come up, alright?"

"Alice would want to see you guys anyways," Jasper confirmed.

_She definitely knows_, I thought to Edward and he nodded.

"Ugh, that place gives me the creeps."

"Rosalie!"

"Sorry, Bella."

Then Carlisle's voice was closer than the rest, "We'll see you then guys, stay safe."

"Bye."

"We love you," I added.

Then the phone clicked.

Edward pulled me onto his lap and I buried my face in his chest, inhaling is scent.

"I'm okay, you know," he said.

"I know." My voice was muffled by his chest.

"But you aren't."

I sighed. "I don't want you to leave," I said quietly.

He laughed. "My beautiful Bella. I'm not going anywhere." I felt his face in my hair. "I'm your prisoner."

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed to prove his statement. "I don't get to say it a lot, but I love you."

He squeezed me back. "I love you too, so much."

I made my way down to the library, where I knew I'd find Edward, after I got off watching with Heidi.

It had been five stressful days since Michael was around. The air in the castle was thick with tension and nothing could help it. Part of me hoped that nothing would ever happen with rebels, and then we could move on with our lives. But then another part of me hoped that they'd take action sooner so we'd never have to worry about it again. What I knew for sure was that we were all in danger and it was impossible for me to wish that there would be no causalities on our side.

Somehow I still had the mind of a teenager in that the one person I didn't want getting hurt was Edward. I loved him too much to be able to not worry.

I took a shortcut down a hidden hall with the only room being the map room. As I turned the corner I heard the voices of Dad, Marcus and Caius. This is where the three of them usually were if you couldn't find them anywhere else, and I wasn't really surprised considering the recent events. But I couldn't help but be offended that I wasn't included in their meeting.

So listened in.

"You should've gotten their location, Aro," Caius's voice rang. "I think your weakness is getting the better of you."

"What weakness?" Dad asked.

"Bella."

"You're overreacting Caius, they all need to show that they can protect themselves once in a while. You never know where they may end up one day," Marcus defended.

"What do you mean, 'where they may end up one day'?" Caius boomed. I wondered how the whole castle didn't hear him.

"We need to think of the possibilities that-"

"You'll not speak of it! We are immortal and you'll not speak of it!" Caius interrupted Marcus.

"We are not undefeatable."

"I've made sure that we are close to it, but if the time ever comes, it's been taken care of," Dad said.

"What do we do about the rebelling, we can't have good vampires being brainwashed by these… traitors," Caius pointed.

"We should remember all those that still respect us and the limits we've set for our race. Some would kill to be on our guard," Marcus added.

"Maybe that's what we should suggest," Caius sneered.

"We cannot stop it," Dad said at once. "The rumors of heightened security will help, but it won't last forever. And slowing it down will just prolong the inevitable."

"And what's that?"

"We're going to be invaded very soon-"

I stopped listening and walked away, promising myself I'd never listen in again. It was too much information, and I wished I hadn't gone through that hallway.

I knew it would happen. But I didn't know when, I didn't know how.

And now, I'd have to be careful about letting my shield down around Edward and my Dad.

_Great_.

Instead of continuing towards the library, I went up to my room.

My world felt upside-down. In my whole life, I never thought something like this would happen. I wasn't prepared for it. None of the guard was. We were going in blind.

_I could run_, I thought, but then immediately dismissed the idea. I couldn't leave my guard; my family. I certainly couldn't leave Edward. And I wasn't a coward.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall and shoot up off my bed.

The only thing I was certain of at the moment was that I didn't want to lose anyone else.

"Bella?" I heard Edward's voice as the door creaked open.

I turned to face him.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly and started towards me.

I inhaled. "Do you ever- have you ever known something you didn't want to? But you knew it was true, you just didn't want to accept it?"

Edward took a step back; away from me. "Bella, you're scaring me."

I reached out to Edward but didn't step closer to him. "I don't want to lose you."

He took my hand and step back to me. He held my hand on his cheek. "I'm not going anywhere." He smiled. "I am wherever you are."

I shook my head. No he didn't get it. This was much worse then his family taking him from me. I squeezed my eyes shut. "You can't- you can't promise me that. It's not something that can be promised."

My hand fell from his face. He dragged his thumbs across my eyes and I opened them.

"I promised you won't lose me because I'd do anything just to stay with you forever."

"How?"

"Well I was thinking-"

He cut himself off with a sigh when the phone in his pocket began vibrating.

I sighed too, when his hands left my face. As he reached into his pocket he pulled me right against him by my waist.

"Alice," he mumbled.

The second he answered the call all I could hear was static and faint shouting.

"Edward," I whispered.

_Edward, we're coming to Italy now! We have to get out of Forks!_

"Alice! What happened?"

_I don't know, Edward! The school! It's gone! Someone destroyed it. Every time we've decided to check it out everyone__'__s futures just disappear! We just have to get out of here!_

I looked up at Edward then to the phone. "The safest place is Volterra right now, I'll get them a plane. Not a Volturi plane though, not after…"

"Did you get that Alice?"

_Yeah, I got it! And I believe you have something to tell us._

Then the line went dead.

He hung up and his hands were on my shoulders. "It'll all be okay, love. I promise. Do you know where your dad is?"

I nodded, falling into to action a little slower than usual. "I have an idea, yeah."

As I made my way back to the map room – somewhere I wasn't comfortable going back to so soon – I suddenly realized what was really going on; someone was definitely after the Cullen's; not just the guard. So the castle was definitely the safest place for them… I hoped.

I quickened my pace.

When we reached the room I didn't even knock.

"Dad, there's an emergency!"

He stood from where he was sitting in the middle of the room and came out into the hall.

"What happened?"

"My family is coming up... now," Edward answered.

"I need you to get them a non-Volturi planned plane," I interrupted.

"Why?"

"I'm not even sure. Alice called. She said someone destroyed the high school we were going to. Every time they'd try to leave and check it out everyone's futures just disappeared."

"We invited them up anyways," I confirmed.

"Well, it's good to know. I'll send a plane."

When Dad went back into the map room, I turned to Edward. I didn't think I'd ever seen him so scared before. Not even when James had him locked up and thirsty for a week.

This was _his_ family. The people that should be more important than me. But he was in Volterra and not with them. He couldn't protect them.

"Why don't we wait downstairs?" I suggested. I didn't want him worried anymore. "It'll only take a little patience and then they'll be safe."

He took my hand without a word and we waited by the back entrance. It was closest to our landing strip so I figured waiting here would make us the least impatient. I still felt eerie about the woods but I supposed they weren't any safer then the city anymore.

We sat against a wall with a clear view of the door.

"Can you promise me?" He asked after a while.

"That the castle is safe? No," I answered honestly. "I can just hope."

He sighed. "I know. I was just checking."

**A/N - dun _dun DUN! _What'd you think? let me know! As always, thanks for all the support on this fic! (also I have writer's block again... yay) Expect the next chapter next week! Oh, unless you review. If you review this week you'll get a teaser for next week's chapter - whether it's a good review or a bad review. Also, if you review on guest please leave me some way to send you the teaser!**


	8. Secrets

**A/N - so here's the deal; I was really anxious about posting this. It feels shorter to me even though it's 1,969 words, but you may feel the same way after you read it. However, after reading it over many times I decided everything was fine and everythings pretty important to the plot. So here you go.**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga. I, on the other hand, do not. **

Edward's pacing back and forth in the hall I was still sitting in was making me anxious.

"Just breathe, Edward. They're almost here. Didn't Alice say they're flying over land now?"

He nodded but kept pacing anyways.

I stood then. "Edward, just listen for a second?"

He stopped pacing and looked at me apologetically.

"Before your family gets here, you need to remember that they can't know everything. I trust them just as much as you do, but they can't know anything you wouldn't tell a total stranger."

He rubbed his forehead. "What about Alice? She already knows about the plane crash."

"That's fine. But this whole 'rebel' thing – I doubt Alice has seen it – it's classified. Unless my dad says anything, we can't."

He blew out a long breath. "Okay. I can handle that."

I wrapped my arms around him. Just to be close to him. Just to know we were safe for now. I felt his chin against my head and his arms around me.

The warmth and love I felt for him was quite possibly stronger than it was when we first met. It was amazing that I could feel fine about anything as long as I was in his arms.

I was never one to rely on someone for something. It just wasn't in my nature. Being able to protect myself and rely on myself was something I learned to do. I didn't think I'd ever have to go to anyone for anything. But since I had Edward in my life I realized I did have to rely on someone. I loved Edward because he was my mate, but with love he brought me something I never had before; comfort.

It didn't matter that the vampire world was currently in shambles because being with Edward made me realize that if I can have something as amazing as him, maybe everything would be okay.

After a while I heard a plane descending onto the platform and was relieved to hear it; the Cullens had made it safely.

"There's just one thing I have to ask of you," he said suddenly.

"Anything."

"I want them all here until this is over, or has settled down or something. It's not safe in Forks for them anymore."

"I understand. We'll make sure they stay safe. All of us."

Suddenly the door burst open and the whole Cullen Clan was surrounding me.

Soon the welcome committee turned into a rapid fire round of question and answer.

"Edward!"

"Bella!"

"We missed you!"

"Alice won't tell us anything!"

"What's going on?"

"Are you okay?"

"When are you coming home?"

I didn't know how to answer the questions without Edward and I could tell Edward wasn't sure how to answer without me. On the one hand he didn't know how much information to give out and on the other I didn't know how he was going to tell his family he was staying.

"How about we get you guys in your rooms first?" I suggested, eyeing all the bags Jasper had dropped at the door.

"What?" Alice defended. "Just because I see the future doesn't mean I don't pack for any occasion!"

We stared making our way through the halls and I brought up what happened in Forks. "Do you know exactly what happened in Forks?" I asked.

They shook their heads.

"Not exactly," Carlisle answered.

"We know that it was definitely a vampire that caused it all," Jasper added.

"We're quite sure they were looking for us," Carlisle continued. "I'm sure for what and why."

Alice looked smug. "Maybe it wasn't a what but a _who_." She glanced at Edward in a way that wasn't noticeable to the other Cullens.

I let Edward through my shield. _She definitely knows._

He nodded slightly.

It didn't really surprise me much. We already knew that Alice knew. I wondered how she hadn't told the rest of the Cullens yet.

What scared me was that Alice just confirmed for us that rebels were looking for Edward… Or me.

"Sounds like they left some destruction behind," I said to try and get more information out.

"Three burnt bodies were found in the rumble of the office building. One of them was not burnt enough, and they found a large gash in her wrist," Carlisle told us.

That's why the school was so destroyed. Who ever came looking for Edward and I left some victims behind.

We reached the guest hall then and the Cullens went to their rooms. Edward and I waited in the hallway for them.

I let Edward through my shield again. _Does the rest of your family know?_

He shook his head no.

_How's Alice?_

"On the fence, she's blocking most of it out," he muttered quietly.

_She sounded irritated._

He shrugged.

"I really don't think they'll have too much of a problem with it…. Most of them," he said with an almost-normal volume.

I heard Esme mutter to Carlisle in their room, "problem with what?"

Then there were footsteps coming down the hall behind me and turned to see Jane.

I smiled at her, happy to see some normalcy of people fetching me.

"Aro would like to welcome the Cullens. He filled us in on what happened and Forks and has some questions for them too."

"Alright, sounds good," I replied.

"Normal dress," she added before turning and walking away.

I turned back around to find the Cullens sticking their heads out their doors. "We're gonna head down, we'll meet you guys down there?"

They all nodded in agreement and Edward squeezed my hand.

We quickly grabbed our cloaks from our room and ran to the throne room in hopes of beating the Cullens.

"I want to make it like normal. As if nothing was going on and today was a regular day. I don't want it to be weird," Edward told me.

"Agreed." Then I hesitated. "I just don't want them to think it's a short term thing."

"They're understanding people. They know how much I love you. It'll all work out in the end."

He smiled down at me and peck my lips before we continued on.

When we reached the throne room Edward's family was not there yet.

Edward shook hands with Dad; which was quite a usual thing between them now. They were constantly swapping thoughts.

I touched my dad but didn't let him through my shield and he gave me a look that I pretended not to notice. I was still too worried about what I'd heard from eavesdropping on his conversation with Marcus and Caius. I couldn't let anyone know how afraid I was. It made me feel too dangerous. Like a bomb ready to explode.

Dad nodded; probably to something Edward told him.

Soon the Cullens were inside the throne room standing right in front of Edward and I.

The first thing I noticed was Alice being too good an actress.

Without looking at the rest of my second family I looked at my dad as he started speaking.

"Welcome, dearest Cullens! I'm sorry that this visit is not for joyful reasons. Carlisle, your son has filled me in on the details of the invasion of your current city. We were hoping you may be able to elaborate…"

I braced myself as Carlisle's voice rang through the room. "Well first I think I should congratulate on gaining a new member. My son looks good with you, Aro." Carlisle smiled at Edward and I, and I gave him a small smile back.

"He made the decision himself, my friend. Stuck to my daughter he is, they're so happy," Dad replied.

I'd never really heard him say anything like it before. I knew he greatly approved of Edward, I just never realized that everyone saw our love as much as we felt it.

Then I felt an arm around me and Edward being squished into my side.

"We've gotten so used to having you around Bella. We'll miss you both." Esme had Edward I wrapped up in a hug. "But you'll do good here, I know it."

Esme stepped aside and then I could see the faces of the rest.

Rosalie did not look happy.

"What kind of good could happen here?" She asked. Not filtering anything.

Edward took a step forward to her. "I'm happy here, Rosalie. I'm happy with Bella."

"What about home? What if we need you at home?"

I gripped tightly on Edward's hand; prepared to win if this turned into a game of tug-of-war.

He squeezed back.

I was still a step behind him and I went forward to be beside him.

"You know she's right Edward," Alice finally said.

I looked at her with pleading eyes. I couldn't believe it – Alice wouldn't stand up for Edward and I. She wasn't going to defend us against Rosalie.

"Alice," my voice rang out.

Rosalie stepped towards us again. "Don't you dare! This is your fault!" She started quickly towards us but as I shoved Edward behind me, the rest of the guard blocked my path.

Rosalie froze where she was.

I quickly moved my shield over the Cullens before Alec or Jane could do anything too harsh.

We were all in a crouch; not that we planned on attacking, it was all natural reflexes.

Dad held out his hand in a way that told us to calm down and everyone went back to their usual places.

Rosalie then turned without a word and Dad called out and asked her to stay in the castle. Emmett watched her leave but did not go after her. The look on his face made me feel awful and I turned my attention to Alice so I wouldn't have to see it.

It wasn't until I was concentrating on Alice that I noticed Jasper.

He was looking at me very intensely. The grip he had on Alice's hand was tight. He almost looked… scared.

Carlisle had just finished apologizing for Rosalie, but I faintly heard him.

I wanted desperately to run out of the room. Ditch everyone and let them work out all the kinks of the day. But I couldn't. I was staying strong. I wasn't about to break down over the prediction of an invasion. What could an invasion lead to?

The thing that scared me the most was the sureness of my dad's voice. He sounded exhausted, saying we just had to wait. He was excepting a fate that I wasn't willing to yet.

Jasper could feel my fear.

I looked Jasper straight in the eye and shook my head so that it wouldn't be noticeable, but big enough that Jasper would know not to question anything.

I tuned back into the conversation going on.

"… There were only two buildings destroyed at the school. We only know what was shown on the news, every time we decided to go check it out Alice couldn't see us anymore, so we stayed behind," Carlisle finished.

"What led you here?" Dad asked.

"Our futures wouldn't have just disappeared like that. It was obvious someone was waiting for us to make a move," Alice chimed in.

"Thank you for the information. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like," Dad said; dismissing them.

So the information I had racked up in my brain was; there were rebels lurking about the vampire world and possibly getting ready to invade us; they showed up in Forks possibly looking for Edward and I; the Cullens would be staying in the castle and half of them weren't very happy about Edward being the newest member of the guard.

It was all those months ago that Edward and I thought we finally had everything worked out. Now it seemed that there was a lot more drama ahead then we expected.

**A/N - See what I mean? It feels short. I haven't even started editing the next chapter yet. So forgive me if you go a little longer then a week without seeing a new chapter, I promise it'll come soon enough! Also, I'm currently writing two chapters (15 and 16 to be exact) at once as my writer's block has been pretty bad lately. I only just finished a chapter I've been working on for a while a couple days ago. In other news: I'm reading The Mortal Instruments series and I'm hooked! I'm only on the first and I haven't even finished yet but it's great so far!**

**Don't forget to favourite and follow and review! Love y'all for all the views this story has been getting, and when you look past the writer's block, i'm happy to do it! **


	9. Protection

**disclaimer - all rights and privileges of the Twilight Saga belong to SM and not me or anyone else on this website for that matter although I'm sure we all wish we wrote it, it's unfortunate that we don't**

"Bella?"

I was sitting up on the rooftop garden. Edward was somewhere inside the castle - probably with his family. I could only imagine what was happening there.

I turned to find my dad. It was a bit unusual to see him around lately. He had little free time. I unfortunately knew why.

"Hey Dad." He sat beside me. "What's up?"

He smiled. "What? I can't hang out with my own daughter?"

I laughed, but didn't answer his rhetorical question. I didn't want to ruin a somewhat peaceful moment.

"Do you remember when Felix first showed you this place?"

I shook my head. I really didn't remember much anymore, but with the mention of Felix I wished I did.

"It was your first week here. You warmed up to most of us pretty fast. But once Felix showed this to you, you couldn't stay away. But one day you got a little too curious. You found a way to get outside the wall and no one had any idea. We looked all around the castle and finally decided to look out into the woods. Demetri couldn't find you – freaked us all out. Something you can still do, actually.

"You had everyone wrapped around your finger, even after only a week. You know since you got here, Chelsea hardly has a job anymore. We eventually– actually, I eventually found you. You were scared to death; all huddled up by a tree."

It was amazing to watch him tell this story. He had such an amazing memory of something I didn't remember.

"I had no idea what to do," his voice dropped low. "But hearing you cry like that… you were still scared of me, but once I picked you up you clung on to me. Two weeks later you called me Daddy for the first time."

The story left me speechless, but one thing bothered me. "I was scared of you?"

He laughed. "I said you warmed up to _most_ of us. I guess I just had to prove myself. You have Edward now, but I'll still protect you in every way I can."

My eyes stung. "Thanks Dad."

His arms wrapped around my shoulders and I blew out a hard breath to keep myself from getting too emotional.

My dad. The only Dad I remember. I knew that he wasn't always the most kind, but you can't be when you put yourself in a position on the Volturi.

But the invasion coming–

"I know you know," Dad interrupted my train of thought.

I pulled away from him; worried I accidentally let him through. "How?" I asked hesitantly.

"You didn't let me through, I just know. I'm your father - of course I know."

We sat in silence as I looked out into the forest before it came out, "I'm scared."

His lips turned down for a second and then went back to normal. "I'm not. You can take care of yourself."

"I'm not worried about my own safety." I turned to look at him and smirked.

He matched my smirk. "Of course you're not. You can't protect everyone, Bella. It doesn't matter how much you want to. I know it's your instinct with your shield, but you can't blame yourself if something happens."

"You and everyone else here are always protecting me."

"Because it's necessary."

"What am I supposed to do if something ever happens to you?"

"You're not worried about Edward?" I could tell he was trying to change the subject, but I wanted to know why he said that everything was taken care of if something happened to him.

"Dad. What do I do if something ever happens to _you_?"

"You do what your head tells you to do."

I laughed. "Right. My head." I stood then. "So, what do we do?"

He knew what I meant this time. "Wait. And be prepared without freaking everyone out."

"How do we do that?"

He cracked a bit of a smile. "Have fun doing it. Invite everyone to the throne room for some conditioning. Two weeks is basically up."

I didn't reply. I just smiled widely and ran back into the castle to tell everyone.

Fighting in the throne room was my favourite. It was family bonding time. And Dad was right that we should have fun preparing ourselves. Even if I was still scared of what was to come it was nice to find some kind of excitement in it.

I ran to find Edward first and ran into Alec on the way.

"Oh, hey Alec!"

"What are you so chipper about?" he asked.

'Well I was just on my way to tell Edward, but I guess you can help round everyone else up. Dad wants us to 'condition' today." I threw air quotes around the words condition. We all found the expression pretty funny.

He looked surprise. "Sure, yeah. I'll get everyone there. Heidi and Demetri are on duty right now…"

"It's okay. Grab them too."

"Alright then," he said walking away.

I was fixed to keep going towards where Edward would be when Alec called my name. "There was some yelling going on down there. Just a warning."

I paused for a second. There was obviously something going down. Then I muttered "thanks" and sped towards the Cullens guest rooms.

Sure enough I could hear Rosalie's voice above the rest as I rounded the last corner.

I didn't even bother knocking on the door and when I got into the room I ignored all the Cullens surrounding each other and got in front of Edward. The way he was yelling at Rosalie was something I'd never heard from him before.

My hands were on his shoulders trying to push him back and I winced as he yelled at Rosalie and… Alice?

"Edward, you don't understand!"

"I understand perfectly! I'm happy _here_; I don't how I could be happy anywhere else! I'm not leaving!"

"You're just gonna leave us all behind?!"

"Oh, _come on_! You're fine without me."

I really couldn't understand what they were fighting about; it was too much for my ears to handle. My eyes were squeezed tight.

Eventually I spoke up. "Edward," I whispered. "Edward, please stop."

Suddenly his hands were around my waist as if he just noticed I was standing in front of him.

I heard him breathe out hard and felt the coolness in my hair. "I belong here now."

I let go of his shoulders and he let go of my waist. I felt the room calm down and wondered if it was Jasper's doing.

I looked at Edward and found guilt in his eyes. "Dad's gathering us in the throne room; he wants us to train now that two weeks are up." Then I handed him his cloak that I grabbed before I came to get him; he needed to start training in it. "I'll catch up to you."

He left the room and went to slam the door behind him but caught it at the last second.

I turned to the Cullens. All sitting in the same room even though they're provided with their own; I loved that.

They waited, patiently, for me to generate something to say. I didn't want to sound mad, or like I owned Edward, but I didn't want to sound too pleading either.

So I started simple. "I didn't want him to stay. I completely refused it at first." I paused to make sure they were all listening. Rosalie looked impatient and I still couldn't read Alice. "I know some of you would force him out of here against his will and I thank you that you haven't done that. You have to know, though, that without him here, I don't know how well I could socialize right now.

"I'm sorry if you feel like I've taken him from you, and there's not much else I can say to make this better. But, I can tell you how well he handles himself and that he can protect himself if it comes down to it. I owe that to you guys."

Carlisle and Esme looked sad, but I knew they accepted Edward being here.

Rosalie spoke up, "I get it, but while we're here I'm not going to pretend I like it." She looked at Emmett. "I'll be in our room."

Emmett went to follow her immediately but stopped in the door frame and turned to me with a smirk. "Thanks for making my brother happy."

"We'll go make sure they don't destroy anything," Carlisle said, and left with Esme.

Once they were gone, Alice spoke up, "There's a lot of things you're not telling us, Bella."

I wondered how this past month would've gone if I hadn't let Edward join. Alice was blaming me for something that just happened. Edward somehow found a place here and I wasn't about to take it from him. We were happy like this.

"I guess you can't trust me anymore," I told her.

"Well, I was actually going to let you guys deal with it yourselves. But what else was I supposed to do to get you to stop fighting all the time? I've never even heard Emmett and Rosalie fight like that before."

I had to stop my mouth from dropping open. "Did we really fight that much?" I asked.

"Yes you did. I didn't need Jasper's power to tell me how much tension there was between you."

"Speaking of which," Jasper chimed in. "What's going on now?"

I played stupid. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I mean. What's going on with your emotions? You're frightened. Even when you don't show it, it's still there and I can't figure out why."

Alice spoke up again before I could answer, "I just want to know what's going on, Bella."

I disconnected myself and slid on the mask. "Its guard stuff."

I left the room and tried to go back downstairs but the quietness of Rosalie and Emmett's room made me realize that Alice was right; Edward and I did fight a lot. It felt like forever ago. It felt like we'd been living together in the castle for a long time. As much as I wished that I could go back in and fix everything, I couldn't. Even Edward didn't know the things I did, and it killed me not being able to tell him.

Before I left to go down to the throne room to join my family, I heard Alice say, "I may not be on the guard, but you bet I'm going to protect my family."

**A/N- this fic is about to get a whole lot more exciting, so get excited! Don't forget to follow and all that jazz!**


	10. Question

**HELLO! It's been quite a while. my life has been a mess lately and I also got obsessed with The Mortal Instruments, so I've been quite occupied. Here's the 10 chapter to Radiate, the sequel to Ignite. If you need a refresher don't be afraid to re-read anything. Sorry I've kept y'all waiting for so long... enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - I very obviously am not Stephanie Meyer, which means I do not own The Twilight Saga.**

"Are you alright?" Edward asked as I came up beside him. Chelsea and Alec were fighting in front of me.

"If I asked you the same thing, what would be your answer?" I asked back.

His jaw tightened and he answered, "moderate."

I crossed my arms at my chest. "Well there's your answer."

He wrapped an arm tightly around my waist.

I kept a mask on, the guard didn't need any more problems and I wasn't going to make the Cullens one of them.

Alec won and Dad asked him to choose someone next. So we locked eyes and I was glad for the distraction.

I went to stand across from him. "You've never beaten me before. What makes you think that's gonna change?"

He shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

He lunged at me first and I managed to get my hand to his neck and throw him across the room. When he stood again I lunged at him and avoided a kick to the knees.

"Come on, Alec. This can't take all day," I complained.

"I guess wearing you out isn't gonna happen?" He asked.

Finally, I got him pinned to the ground by pulling his arm around and kicking his back.

"Nope," I answered.

He sighed when I let him go and joined everyone else.

Dad shifted in his throne where he was watching. "Edward, why don't you and Bella have a go?"

I could see in his eyes that it was a test. He wanted to know how far we could take it before the thought of hurting each other was too much.

I used to be bothered by it, but I hoped it wouldn't faze me today. I knew Edward could take care of himself when the time came for real fighting. It was obvious that I wouldn't actually hurt him; so I became confident that we'd be able to pass this test.

Edward and I made contact and I knew he heard my Dad's plans.

I smiled at him eagerly. We hadn't done this with each other in a while and it was fun. Edward and I hadn't used that word in a while and we weren't going to make a big deal out of nothing.

"Bring it on, Cullen."

He smiled just as eagerly back.

We charged at each other and he jumped over me as I slid for his legs. Standing back up, we circled around each other for a while as I planned what to do next. I could feel him trying to get through my shield.

"Not gonna happen," I said under my breath before starting towards him.

When I reached him he tried to grab my arm but I ended up twisting his behind him. I thought I had him but suddenly his other arm reached to grab my neck and I was smashed into the floor. I felt the tile crack under my forehead. When I went to get back up to my feet I was too late. My hands were trapped behind my back and there were a pair of teeth at my neck.

Edward was just too fast.

"No way," I heard behind me. It sounded like Jane.

"Dude did you get through her shield?" Demetri asked.

"You have to teach me how!" Alec said.

Edward chuckled in my ear and I concealed a shiver. His arm then wrapped around my waist and he pulled me up.

I wasn't having any of it, I defended myself right away. "No he did not get through my shield… He's just fast." I felt a smile tug at my mouth; I was proud of him. But I kept a straight face as I pulled away from his grip. "You're going down next time."

He just chuckled again.

**Edward POV –** **ouu we're getting fancy. I decided the rest of the chapter played out best in Edward's head. This is the only thing I've written in his head so far and I'm not sure if there is more to come.**

Bella left me in the middle of the room to choose who I was going against next but Aro had other ideas.

I turned to look at him. "I believe Aro would like to have a turn."

He stood and walked towards me. "I believe you are correct. I need to test this for myself."

There was something else going on in his mind but I couldn't figure it out.

I saw Bella out of the corner of my eye looking at me, confused. I slightly shrugged at her to tell her it was nothing, but then her eyes narrowed.

I attempted to ignore her and focused more on Aro and who was going to make the first move. We were both leaned into a crouch when he first spilled something.

_I need you to do some snooping around for me._

Then he made a first move and attacked me to the ground. With the contact I answered with _I can't lie to her._

_I didn't mean that_, he replied.

We kept fighting and I dug my elbow into his gut to get him off of me. He grabbed my forearm before I could get very far and I used advantage of his occupied mind to push him off of me. He landed on his feet, no longer being able to read my mind.

I could still read his. _You know that Bella's been hiding something from you, I told her not to tell you, but now I'm going to do it for her._ His mind played out a scene of him in the map room with Marcus and Caius. The amount of information I received behind the Volturi caught me off guard. It all came very fast.

_What weakness?_

_Bella._

_If the time ever comes, it's been taken care of._

_And slowing it down will just prolong the inevitable._

_We're going to be invaded very soon._

I couldn't believe it. The Volturi's experience was so great they saw something before Alice could. They predicted something that hadn't been decided yet, and they were positive they were right. _I_ was positive they were right.

I tried to keep my face the same but it was difficult. Aro could see it and lunged back at me. I was pushed up against the wall and struggled as Aro threw thoughts towards me again. _I just need you to tell me when, I know Alice is unhappy with you but I need you to get her to look._

There was an underlying tone in Aro's head. He worried about Bella and I, but not as much as the others. I saw just how much Aro trusted us to keep ourselves safe, how much he knew we could protect ourselves.

We couldn't prolong fighting each other anymore so he pinned my hands behind my back quickly – beating me fair and square – and I let him know I'd talk to him afterwards.

Aro let me go and I came back to reality.

"I suppose you're not _quite_ good enough," Aro laughed, seeming perfectly at ease.

We shook hands. "You put up a good fight, Aro," I told him, then chuckled.

We made the last of our conversation quick, as to make sure the handshake didn't last for too long.

_Find me later._

_Bella was talking to my family earlier- _I played out for him the she made me leave_ - I have to make sure everything is okay._

I went to join Bella's side and found her eyes still narrowed at me. _Oh yeah, I'm in trouble_, I thought to myself.

She definitely wanted to know what just happened. She always knew when something was up.

_You can give her brief information - I don't want her getting worked up over this. She has enough to worry about._ Aro told me.

"Alright. I want Bella and Jane to go up next. I'm getting you to remove your shield Bella." Aro told her.

Angry Bella quickly turned into calming Bella when my hand tensed around hers.

"Its fine, Edward," her voice whispered. "Don't worry, I can snap it back on whenever I want."

"Maybe we've done enough testing for today," I whispered back, but she pulled out of my grip anyways and went to the centre of the room across from Jane.

To my surprise, Jane didn't exactly like it either. I saw memories of them when Bella was young play out in Jane's head. She still saw Bella as young and fragile now and didn't want to do it. But in Jane's mind, she also knew it would make Bella better, and she focused on that.

"Okay Jane, it's off," Bella said.

I heard it in her mind first though. I loved listening to Bella's thoughts; but this time I wasn't too happy on the circumstances.

Everyone knew when Jane hit Bella with her power because her fist clenched, but I knew because I could hear the pain in her mind.

Bella lunged for Jane anyways, and knocked a clenched fist into her face. As they fought I heard Jane's plans of increasing the pain and Bella's thoughts as her muscles tensed with the fiery pain.

It wasn't until Bella had pinned Jane against the floor that the pain had increased so much her hands trembled and gave out as she let out a cry that I had to leave the room. The door closed a little too loudly behind me and I made it about five feet down the hallway before I had to stop and sit down. Bella's constant thoughts were her telling herself to push through it, but once I heard the sound of her cry I couldn't take it.

Bella's thoughts suddenly cut off and from what I could hear of the rest of the guard's thoughts, she won without putting her shield back up.

For that, I was proud of her. But suddenly I felt ashamed for myself for not being able to handle it. I heard Aro dismiss them and then Bella was at my side. Her soft hand fit itself to my cheekbone. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I kissed her then, glad to see that she was fine.

"So are you gonna tell me what that was or do I have to guess?" She asked. I would've answered, but even I wasn't really sure yet.

"Just business. What did you talk to Alice about?" I distracted.

"We need to work things out. I don't think she's very happy with me."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "She's not very happy with me either, but there is no way I'm apologizing."

"How'd you even get into such a big fight?" she asked. My distraction was working; I didn't want to tell her my job from Aro before I knew everything.

I sighed. But it was better than the other topic of discussion. "She doesn't want me to stay. But I'm not leaving you."

"No. You're not going anywhere, you're staying right here." Her arms went around my waist and squeezed me tight.

"So what'd you talk about with her?" I asked.

She sighed. "I'm sure she already let you know that the only reason she made me bring you here is because she didn't want us fighting anymore?"

I nodded. Alice let me know the day before that she was tired of us fighting all the time. That's why I took Bella out to the meadow. But then when she had to leave again, it was like we hadn't gone at all until Alice made Bella bring me.

I knew Bella was only concerned about my personal safety. I never wanted to do anything see wasn't comfortable with, but our relationship didn't feel equal enough. I wasn't comfortable every time she left. But now we were equal, and I couldn't remember the last time we fought like he did in Forks.

"There's a lot of secrets around here, Edward. And none of them can know. It sucks; especially when they don't understand."

Her eyes were closed when I looked over at her; her head still resting on my shoulder; arms wrapped tightly around me. It kind of reminded me of Jane's memories of her as a little girl.

"Bella?"

Her eyes opened and went a little wide when she realized how close our faces were.

"I know," I told her. Her face questioned me. "Your dad told me. That's what went on earlier."

She pulled her head off my shoulder and sat up straight. "He told you?"

"Yes, he wants me to find out from Alice, exactly… _when_... I don't know every detail yet. And you," I said tapping her nose and making her smile, "don't need to worry about it because it's taken care of."

I pulled away from her and stood, offering her a hand she didn't need. She took it anyway and when she got up she didn't let go. "Apparently you don't know me very well, but I'll try not to worry."

We made our way upstairs hand-in-hand. I knew I'd have to go meet Aro soon, but I felt as if I hadn't been able to around Bella anymore. It was always business, never us.

We ended up at Bella's favourite spot; the rooftop garden. She sat curled in my lap and we listened to the comforting sound of each other's breaths. The sunset reminded me of our last day in the meadow back in Forks.

There had been something I wanted to do since before that day in the meadow. Something I still wanted to do.

"Do you think that when everything is over, we could just spend the rest of our lives like this?" Bella suddenly asked.

I kissed her hair. "I think we definitely could."

"I'd be perfectly fine just like this."

_C'mon Cullen, be man._ "I was actually thinking a little different than this."

She sighed. "I think this is perfect."

"What if we were married?" I finally got out.

She froze. Her body was completely tense in my arms.

It hurt a little. I was cursing myself inside. How could I be so careless? Obviously it wasn't a good time. But if Bella needed time, that's exactly what I'd give her.

"Bella. It's alright love. I was just putting the idea in your head."

"I'm sorry," her voice shook a little, "it's just- with everything going on- I-"

"It's okay, love. I'll wait forever as long as it's you."

Her body relaxed again as she whispered very softly, "I'm sorry."

I just squeezed her tighter to me and inhaled her scent.

I could've punched myself; I didn't even think of what was going on outside our bubble. I just thought of how perfect the moment felt. We obviously wouldn't be able to do anything until this was all over anyways.

But it's not like she ran away and hid until I left just because I brought it up. I took comfort in the fact that she was still here.

_She's just not ready_, I told myself.

**A/N - Hope you enjoyed being in Edward's head a little bit! I don't plan on writing anymore this way but who knows, it may come up. Let me know if you liked it and I hope school starting tomorrow doesn't effect me posting next week! 3**


	11. The Aftermath

**Hello all, hope you enjoyed the last chapter! I'm happy to be back and doing this fanfic; I've really missed the story. This chapter is a little short, but i know it'll answer a lot of question you may have. **

**Disclaimer - Stephanie Meyer owns The Twilight Saga. I, unfortunately, do not.**

I was embarrassed. Edward asked me something I'd been waiting to hear; something I'd wanted to happen before my family was being threatened and my second family was disappointed in me.

It just wasn't the right time – not anymore.

But it made me so happy to hear. Knowing that Edward wanted to spend the rest of forever with me as his wife made my dead heart swell.

I'd rejected him, but he still held me in his lap. He wasn't mad.

I felt him inhale my scent and his chest rose and fell against my side.

"Edward?" I asked in a small voice.

"Hmmm?" His light answer proved told me he wasn't bothered, but I had to make sure.

"You know I want to marry you, right?"

I was glad in that moment that I couldn't see his face.

"I'd told you I'd wait until you were ready, Bella."

He wasn't understanding. I turned in his arms to grab his face in my hands. "No. Edward. I _want_ to marry you. There's no one else I'd rather spend the rest of forever with. I just- with everything going on. I can't. It breaks my heart that we can't, and I'm sorry."

He leaned in to rest his forehead against mine. "I know, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," I protested.

"You don't either." He smirked.

"Fine." I kissed him briefly. "I love you."

The smirk on face turned into a crooked smile. "I love you, too."

Then he kissed me. And it was definitely not brief.

There were not enough words in the world to describe how much I loved Edward. There was no doubt that I wouldn't do anything for him. Because it was possible – even in forever – that one day everyone would start a new journey, and then all I'd have was Edward.

But the awaiting invasion had to ruin everything.

I knew we'd be okay. But there was always doubt in the back of my mind. The scared little voice that Jasper let me know he could feel. The one that told me I could lose people I love.

Edward broke off the kiss with a gasp.

I looked at him, confused.

"Bella… Your shield."

I inspected the shield around me, and there it was. I'd let Edward's power through my shield without noticing… Again.

It was just like when the Cullens first came here. Dad put Edward and I against each other while the guard was 'conditioning' and Edward got in my head. Or rather, I let him in.

My shield quickly pushed him out as my head fell down to his chest. But Edward protested and held my face in his hands to look up at him.

"You were terrified. You were completely terrified." He said is questioningly. Like he didn't believe it. "Bella? Why didn't you tell me?"

I pulled out of his grasp and stood up in front of him, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's not like you knew about anything until recently."

For some reason I felt the need to defend myself. Edward didn't need to protect me. I could do that all for myself.

Then Edward stood too. I knew he realized what was going on and his face stayed soft. "I just want you to feel safe, Bella."

"I don't think that's possible around here right now, Edward. And I don't need everyone around here protecting me all the time."

Edward's jaw dropped.

"What?" I snapped at him.

"This is about Michael isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

He took a hesitated step towards me. "Four days before my family came; that nomad Michael… you can't listen to that stuff."

I stayed quiet. Maybe it was possible that his words got to me.

_I think _you_ may just survive us, you're… well protected. Because no one would ever let any harm come to Isabella Volturi._

"I don't want to talk about it, Edward."

He stepped up closer and put his arms around my waist. I kept my arms folded and stared to my right.

Edward laughed and I finally looked up to glare at him.

"I think you can take care of yourself just fine." He kissed my forehead.

On the inside I was smiling; glad that he thought so. I was serious and stayed still until he pulled away and turned to leave the roof.

My arms uncrossed and I instinctively reached out. "Where are you going?"

"Your dad wants to talk to me, remember?"

I blocked his path to the door off the roof. "I'm going with you. I don't want you keeping secrets from me."

His smile faded. "You don't have a problem keeping them from me."

I stepped back. "Are you serious right now? Edward, you know now…"

"But you didn't tell me you were so scared."

"What did you want me to do? Break down in front of you? In front of the guard? You know me better than that."

He rubbed his eyes. "I just want to know that when something is bothering you, you trust me enough to tell me."

"You know it's not because I don't trust you. That's a load of crap. What's the real reason?" I asked him.

He hesitated.

I step back towards him again. We were inches apart. "Edward. What is the real reason?"

"Because I'm scared too, okay? I'm not losing you. Not again."

And at that moment I was sorry about the whole fight. I was sorry for keeping things from him. I was sorry for being so mad.

My head fell against his chest and I let him through my shield.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry._

"I promise, Edward." I looked him in the eye. "You are never going to lose me."

Then I kissed him.

When we reached my dad's room the door was already open, inviting us in.

I walked right in and pulled Edward with me, so he knew it was okay and we sat in two chairs across from where Dad was reading a book.

He looked up and his eyes went straight to me. His eyes showed me that he was not expecting me to be there.

I scoffed – it sounded more insulting then I'd meant it to be. "Get used to it, Dad. You two aren't keeping secrets from me."

Then he looked at Edward. I knew even if my dad were mad at him for letting me in, he wouldn't be able to do much about it with me in the room.

Edward just shrugged his shoulders and looked at my dad apologetically. "You can't stop her once she sets her mind." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Dad sighed. "Well… then I suppose there something both of you need to know before we talk about Alice."

My shoulders tensed. My jaw tightened. Edward and I cast each other a worried glance at the same time. I could tell that Edward didn't know, which meant that my dad was blocking his thoughts so Edward wouldn't know ahead of time.

I couldn't possibly think of anything that I didn't already know.

All the different criminals we had lately pointed to the rebels. The first was Felix being killed; it was definitely a rebel out in our woods. Then the immortal child; probably created by a rebel. Edward and I were almost killed and Joshua had told us –

That was it. I knew what my dad was about to tell Edward and I, and I wished all I had that I was wrong.

Even though I realized what he was about to say, the world still turned. Birds outside kept chirping. Human hearts kept beating. And I wondered how it was possible when this was happening.

"Marcus, Caius and I have all come to an agreement on all the clues these past events have led us to."

_Deep breaths, Bella,_ I told myself. Adrenaline started running through me and it tried to convince me that I could handle anything.

"We have reason to believe that before James was killed, he orchestrated the rebels."

There it was. The truth.

It made perfect sense. James' ultimate goal was to see the Volturi fall; of course he would have followers.

The adrenaline kept pumping through me and my genius response was, "I know."

It seemed like Edward had caught on too because his reply was, "it was obvious."

The little terrified voice in my head was reminding me that this was the guy who ruined my life. I killed him and he was still ruining my life.

Then, despite the adrenaline, my whole body froze up.

_Can vampires go into shock?_

I tired concentrating on my surroundings. I was in my dad's room. He was sitting in front of me. Edward was sitting beside me. Their lips were moving, there was sound.

But I wasn't retaining any of it. All I could think about was James.

_I think vampires can go into shock._

**A/N - Let me know what you think! The next two chapters are gonna be good, so stay tuned! (also, I apologize for any typos. I hate editing more then once)**

**ALSO! If you like The Mortal Instruments series (if you don't I highly recommend it) check out my new one shot - She is Love!**


	12. Little Secrets

**Disclaimer - Obviously I do not own The Twilight Saga.**

"She's not even moving."

"I know."

"Well what do we do?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe I should get Carlisle."

"Not a good idea, too many questions."

Silence.

Then, "Bella? Come on, love. Come back."

I could see Edward but his face was blurry as I looked past him at my dad. He was standing in the doorway looking very unsure of himself.

I screamed at him in my head. _C'mon dad! Remember when you found me in the woods when I was a kid? Get me out of this, please!_

I felt stuck in my own body. Edward didn't know what to do. But I knew my dad could get me out. "Felix would know what to do," I heard him say. He came over and stood in front of me. It was silent in the room. I didn't like it.

Then, very slowly, he knelt down to my eye level and looked me straight in the eye.

"Bella, you need to hunt."

And in the same second I shot out of my chair. My thoughts were no longer the most prominent thing around me, but Edward's arms were. They wrapped around me tightly.

I exhaled a huge breath.

Edward's arms left me and my face were in my dad's hands.

"Are you okay? I knew I shouldn't –"

"No!" I interrupted. "No I told you the truth when I said I knew already. It was different hearing it. I mean – It's James." I shrugged. "He's been conducting my whole life. I just…"

"You need to hunt."

I just nodded.

He turned my face a little – as if inspecting it – then dropped his hands.

I grabbed Edward's hand and started pulling him out the door.

"Be careful in those woods!" Dad shouted after us.

Edward and I were squeezing each other's hands – a little too hard – as we made our way to the back of the castle and into the forest.

I just needed air. And blood.

As soon as we were out of the castle I sprinted forward to a denser area. A smile broke out on my face. I was glad to be out, to have fresh air to breathe – not that I needed it. I let out a laugh as Edward easily passed me.

It only took a couple of seconds for me to catch up and I jumped onto his back. We both laughed as my arms went around his back and my legs around his waist. I kissed his neck.

I looked around me. The trees slightly blurred as Edward ran past them. "Wow. You really are fast."

He stopped suddenly and then we were chest to chest. "That's what they tell me."

I pushed his chest and stepped back. "Let's do this. I'm starving."

We both stopped and listened. A breeze blew by and I smelled a herd of deer.

I looked to Edward and met his eye, and then we took off towards the herd.

They started fleeing but I grabbed the largest one I saw and took it down – I heard Edward do the same close by. After snapping its neck I dug my teeth into its collarbone. The blood stopped the itch in my throat and calmed me.

After draining my third deer I sensed Edward behind me and spun around to find a smirk across his face.

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you smirking at?"

"You." His grin grew wider and he glanced down at my shirt.

I followed his gaze and found a streak of dirt and deer hair across my shirt. I'd never been very good at keeping clean while hunting, but since I'd switched to animal blood it grew worse.

I looked back up at him and pointed to myself. "Oh you think this is funny?"

"Yeah, I do."

Before he could finish the sentence I threw a glob of dirt at him and it splattered on his shirt. He glared down at it and back up at me.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that."

"Yeah, Cullen?" I asked playfully. "Bring it."

He leaned into a crouch and I took off deeper into the woods and stopped when I reached a small clearing. I'd stopped for a little too long and Edward crashed into my back. We fell down onto the forest floor and Edward rolled off of me.

I caught him before he could stand up again but couldn't get a proper grip. He flipped up to stand and I quickly followed.

Suddenly there was a crack of lighting above us and rain and thunder followed.

I pounced back at Edward and we fell back to the ground. Finally, I managed to dig my knee into his abdomen and had a secure grip on his head.

"I win." I smiled and blinked through the rain dripping down my face.

He smiled up at me and I rolled off him and into the mud beside him. He clutched onto my hand as we both stared up at the rain.

I could've stayed like this forever.

"I don't want to go back," I said quietly. It was something I never thought I'd say. I didn't want to go back to the fear, the drama. I wanted to stay out in the woods with the fresh air and no worries.

"It is pretty nice to be out, huh?" Edward said lightly. I knew he didn't want to talk about anything waiting for us back at the castle, I didn't either. But it was hard not to think about.

"I don't remember ever going so long cooped up in there."

A comfortable silence fell between us and the rain continued to beat down on us.

"You scared me back there you know," Edward said, breaking the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I turned my head to see him. He kept looking up at the raining sky.

Suddenly my words came tumbling out. "I was expecting it. I really was. But this is the guy who killed my parents we're talking about here. My whole life revolved around his little plan and when I killed him I thought it was finally over, but it's not. My life is still about his plan. Only this time it's different because now _all_ the people I truly care about are in danger. And it _sucks._"

Edward finally turned his head to look at me. "You know what I think?"

I swallowed hard. "What?"

"I think you are the strongest person I have ever met. And I would have never met you if you weren't part of the Volturi. I think everything happens for a reason; however sick that may sound."

We just looked at each other for second. It was true. James may have screwed with my life, but I met Edward. All of it seemed worth it because Edward was there.

But he took my silence the wrong way. "That did sound sick. I'm sor –"

"No!" I cut him off. "I needed to hear it."

I stood up. The mud was caked against my back thanks to all the rain. I felt in desperate need of a shower.

"Let's go." I held my hand out to Edward and he stood up and took it.

"Where?"

I squeezed his hand. "Back to the castle. I'm not going down without a fight."

There were things that needed to be done back at the castle. I was tired of all the secrets. They were driving a wedge between Edward and his family. And I hated that the rest of guard had no idea.

When we got back inside the castle, Edward stopped me.

"Bella, love? I can tell you're on a mission – I'm not sure what it is but I'm sure I'll find out soon – but I think you should change first," he said rubbing some dirt off my cheek.

I'd almost forget about the mess I was in. "Good idea."

Just as we reached our room Alec walked by. "Woah, what happened to you guys?"

I shrugged. "Just some rain."

He was about to go on about his business when I stopped him. "Hey Alec, could you do something for me? I need you to get the guard to meet in the throne room in about fifteen minutes. Invite the Cullens, too."

He looked confused, but I knew he wouldn't say no. "Alright. I'll get on it."

Just as he rounded the corner behind me, my dad, Caius, and Marcus appeared in the hallway in his place. And they did not look happy.

Without taking my eyes off of them I opened the door to mine and Edward's room. "Go ahead, Edward. I'll be there in a second."

Without a word he slipped inside.

"What are you up to, Bella?" Caius asked.

"What do you think?" I snapped. "I'm tired of all the secrets around here."

Dad's eyes narrowed. "Bella, you can't–"

"It's wrong for them to be in the dark and you know it! We need to be prepared for this!"

All a got was a couple of glares. Marcus avoided my gaze.

"Marcus?" I pleaded. But he kept avoiding my eyes. "Dad?"

"It's dangerous. I don't want word getting out that we're getting ready for something like this," Dad looked apologetic.

"This is the _guard_ we're talking about here. Not some random bunch of people." I lowered my voice. "If we see that someone seems weary about it, we'll just get Chelsea to tighten a couple ropes a little. Problem solved."

"No," Caius spoke up. "You can't just call a meeting, when did you get to make rules around here?"

Dad looked a little annoyed at Caius' comment, but not as annoyed as I hoped to see.

I stood my ground and took a step closer to Caius. "I started the minute I got here. And if you think lying and keeping secrets is a way to run a guard you're wrong. How about they don't find out from one of the four of us? How do you think that would turn out?"

He was silent. His mouth formed a tight line.

"So it's settled," I tried to finalize.

"But the Cullens. They're not part of the guard." He looked smug, like he thought I wouldn't be able to rebuttal.

"I love Edward. I love the people he loves and they're not going back to Forks until its safe. So what do you propose? We throw them out into the vampire world while Edward joining the guard is the hottest topic of the vampire world and the rebels would kill to have one of them on their side?" I scoffed. "Yeah, I don't think so.

"Does anyone else have any complaints?" I asked. I watched the three of them, trying to determine if they were trying to come up with any other excuses. But they didn't seem to have anything else to say. "Then I'll see you in ten minutes."

I turned to go back into mine and Edward's room and just before I slammed the door, I swear I heard my dad mutter, "That's my girl."

**A/N - I meant to post this chapter a lot sooner but school is kicking my ass. Anyways, this is getting exciting! Stay excited my friends! This is definitely one of my fav chapters so let me know what you think! Thanks for being amazing!  
Sidenote: I didn't edit this chapter much cause I just wanted to get it up, so sorry for any mistakes!**


	13. Truth

**Disclaimer - I do not own the Twilight Saga. Obviously those privileges go to Stephanie Meyer. **

It didn't take long for Edward and me to be ready to go down to the throne room. He clutched onto my hand as we made our way down.

I dressed in all black so I wouldn't have to wear the thick cloak. It was somewhat of a peace offering towards the Cullens. I didn't want them to think there were two sides. Edward did the same, and I hoped the guard would too.

Edward stopped me when the throne room was just a hall away. "You're sure you want to do this?"

I squeezed his hand in reassurance and looked him right in the eye. "I am completely positive I want to do this. I'm tired of all the secrets around here."

"Alright." A huge smile took place on his face. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"You aren't mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"I wasn't sure…if… you wanted you family in this…" I trailed off, waiting for his reaction.

He sighed. "At first I didn't want them to. You know, they're staying here so they're safe. But I think it would make them feel safer to know."

I took a deep breath. "Okay then. Let's do this."

We continued down the hallway with our hands linked together. We came through the door to find my dad, Marcus, and Caius in their chairs with the Cullens on one side and the rest of the guard on the other.

I was relieved they weren't in their robes. I knew most of them didn't exactly enjoy wearing them unless we were in public. They were really just for show.

"Everyone's here now, Aro. Can we know what this is all about now?" Heidi asked.

"Well…" Dad started but was interrupted by Caius' laugh.

"You think we called this little gathering? It was all Bella."

I proceeded to step up onto the elevated floor of the throne room where Dad, Marcus, and Caius sat, and pulled Edward along with me. The division of people ain the room was obvious and I wasn't about to leave Edward down there to choose where to stand.

Everyone in the room had their eyes on me.

I was surprised that even Alice looked interested despite the fact that she probably already knew what I was about to say. I realized that she had been very absent for the last few incidents that I was sure she had seen; she probably just didn't want to be around me anymore.

But she was still here now and I hoped that maybe seeing it take place in real time would help my relationship with Alice.

"Well," I started, "First off, you may not think you all should be here right now, but trust me when I say it's for everyone's benefit."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and Jane glanced through the corner of her eye at the Cullens.

I continued, "_I_ think that you all deserve to know what going on around here. And the truth of the matter is that from past events the five of us agree that we all need to be prepared for an encounter with the rebels… possibly an invasion. I think now that everyone knows, we can be prepared – we can take safe precautions." Then I looked over to the Cullens. "I'm not telling you this because I want you to fight with us."

"But I'm not letting you leave until its safe enough for you to go back to Forks," Edward added. "And we agree that it's safer for you to know. Rather than staying here without a clue to what's going on."

Carlisle nodded at Edward proudly. "Thank you, for deciding to include us in this."

Esme linked her arm around Carlisle's and smiled warmly at the both of us. "We _all_ appreciate it, Bella."

Suddenly Demetri laughed and I saw a few other members of the guard smiling along with him.

I stepped down from the elevated floor, letting go of Edward's hand and met his eye. "How on earth is this amusing?"

"I'm glad you chose to tell us, Bella." His eyes flickered to my dad for a second. "But I don't think you should worry too much. We'll just train a little harder and beat the crap out of them."

"There's just one more thing… James is the one behind it." The Cullens looked a little startled, but it didn't faze the guard at all.

"I hate to break it to you," Alec laughed. "But James is dead. You killed him."

"Well there must've been a lot more going on than we thought," Edward answered.

"So when do we get to kick some rebel butt?" Demetri asked.

Dad stood from his chair. "Well we aren't sure." I saw him glance at Alice for a fraction of a second.

Edward turned to look at Alice and her eyebrows rose. "Oh, you want _me_ to go looking for it." She looked at everyone in the room, except the Cullens behind her who were still silent. "Why would I do that?"

"Because it could help us out...?" Jane muttered behind me in a _duh_ tone.

Alice just glared at Jane, and I threw up my shield around Alice just in case. But then she folded her arms across her chest, said, "I'm done here," and walked out.

Jasper shot me an apologetic glance and left after her. Rosalie didn't waste any time in following either – I wasn't so mad about Rosalie though, I knew most of her hate came from just being uncomfortable here.

But Alice wasn't making any sense.

I looked to Edward to see if maybe he'd heard anything and he looked me straight in the eye. I knew what he was about to say before he even said it and a smile grew across my face.

"We got it," he announced; smiling himself.

"When?" Dad asked.

"Next time it rains. So around three weeks."

Demetri scoffed. "Too bad vampires can't sleep. It's gonna be a boring three weeks."

"Tell me about it," Jane added.

Edward looked shocked. "Really?"

I just shrugged. Demetri had a point.

Demetri's head turned swiftly to look at Edward, like he'd forgotten Edward was standing there. "Scratch that. You," he pointed a finger at Edward, "are gonna need a crash course."

I was still aware of three Cullens still in the room, and I glanced wearily at them. They hadn't had much to say this whole time. Dad noticed this too, and he dismissed the guard. Marcus and Caius left along with them; probably realizing this was now a family matter.

I sat on the edge of the elevated floor, thinking it would take away some of the tension in the room; but it didn't.

Carlisle was the first to speak. "Thank you for deciding to include us, Bella."

I sighed. "I'm just glad it's out there now. It's off my back."

Without warning, the doors to the room opened and Jasper and Rosalie entered. Rosalie went straight to Emmett and his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Alice told us we should come back," Jasper announced as the doors fell closed. "What's going on?"

I felt hurt. "You mean she's not coming back?"

Jasper sent me a wave of comfort. "She didn't want to."

My head unintentionally fell into my hands and I felt an arm go around my shoulder. A small, but warm one; Esme. "Don't worry about her, sweetie. Alice always comes around."

"No, I'm pretty sure she hates me," I countered, lifting my head out of my hands.

"Don't worry," Edward said sitting next to me. "She's not too fond of me either." He kissed the side of my head and stood back up.

"Is someone going to tell us what we missed?" Rosalie asked.

I lifted my head out of my hands. "Three weeks."

"Three weeks until…?"

"Three weeks until there's a fight with the rebels."

Rosalie looked around the room like she was looking for something. "So why has no one mentioned us getting the heck out of here?"

Edward's head snapped to look at her. "Because you're not leaving."

"And join this freak show? No way."

I was standing before she even finished talking and a hiss escaped my lips. It was like a reflex; I didn't even think. I felt my dad's hand on my shoulder and he pushed me into the floor in case I decided to go after her. But I wasn't going to. It embarrassed me that my dad thought I would.

It helped slightly when I saw Edward's reaction was similar to mine. While I was busy, he took a few steps towards Rosalie with clenched fists.

"I can assure you that there will be no persuasion to join my guard during your stay, Rosalie. Which brings me to my next point… my guard hasn't fed in a good two weeks," Dad said.

Before anyone could speak I added, "We could all go out hunting that day, so we wouldn't have to be here."

Carlisle nodded. "We'll respect your guard, Aro. We understand." He spoke for all of them, obviously realizing that not all of the Cullens felt this way.

Dad's hand tightened a bit before he let go of my shoulder.

"Can I leave now?" Rosalie asked.

All the Cullens shot her 'that's-so-rude' looks, but I just said, "yeah, I just wanted you all to know." Giving them all a cue to leave.

Esme hugged me. "Thank you for including us, Bella."

"Yeah, Bells," Emmett said as he fist pumped Edward and then messed my hair. "It's good to have you and Eddie looking out for us."

Carlisle shook Dad's hand. "I'd like to thank you, Aro. Your hospitality is quite generous."

"How else could I thank you for supporting Edward?" Dad asked rhetorically.

"We'll see you later," Carlisle added before everyone left.

"I'll meet you two in the map room," Dad said before leaving Edward and I by ourselves.

I sat back down on the edge of the elevated floor and Edward sat beside me, securing an arm tightly around my waist. My head fell to his shoulder.

"I thought everything was getting better," I told him. "Getting out of the castle earlier was just so refreshing but they're just distractions. I hope that it'll all work out, and I should be happy that we know when but I'm still worried, you know?"

"You've been here a lot longer than I have, love." I felt his head rest against mine. And I wished we could get stay there. But Dad wanted us to meet him in the map room, probably to sort all the new information out. I guessed that Marcus and Caius would already be there and wondered why Dad wanted Edward and I involved so thoroughly.

"I know, I'm sorry," I answered Edward.

He laughed lightly. "I wasn't looking for an apology. What I'm saying is I think you underestimate yourself too much. You even let a stupid comment from some random vampire from the street get to you. I don't hope it'll all work out, I _know_ it all work out."

The corners of my mouth turned up slightly. "Thanks. And hey," I lifted my head to look at him, "I know you'll be just fine too."

He smiled back. "You think?"

"I _know._"

His arm left my side and he pulled me up off the ground by the hand. "You're dad's waiting, we should go."

**A/N - another chapter down, many to come! Love your faces!**


	14. Wedding Bells

**I thought I'd point out how mean I am when it comes to titles...**

**Disclaimer - Stephanie Meyer owns the Twilight Saga. I only own Edward... what? I don't? God dammit.**

"The first tip off was Felix," Dad pointed.

Him, Edward and I were all seated in the map room, recording all the past events that had gone on – particularly the ones the tipped us off about the rebels. Dad decided to leave Marcus and Caius out of our little meeting, for which I wasn't sure why.

I felt my back slouch at the mention of Felix. He always knew how to make things seem less terrifying. I knew that from experience when I was little.

I quickly changed the subject. "Then the newborn immortal child in the Amazon."

"That still doesn't make sense to me…" Edward said.

Dad looked up from his writing to Edward. "I have a feeling they wanted to confirm you, Edward. You said their coven was very intrigued to see you… maybe they were pursued afterwards for information after the rebels placed what they knew would lure us in, in their possession."

"Do you think they'd tell you if you gave them a call?" I asked. I didn't like the idea of the rebels wanting information on Edward. It made me uncomfortable. I wanted to know if my dad's "feeling" was correct or not.

Dad shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned the rebels could threaten them a lot more than we could. I've always thought of them as a peaceful coven and I don't want them in more trouble for it."

Now I saw perhaps why Marcus and Caius were not here. Caius would be down Dad's throat about now for ignoring the Amazon coven's involvement in the rebel's business. If not me – then Edward was much more level headed then someone like Caius.

"Then there was the plane crash. And Joshua." My fingers curled into the wooden table and when I felt my nails cutting into in surface I quickly pulled away. Joshua was a trader. He was supposed to be on the look-out when in reality, he took part in attempt of my death.

Dad nodded. "That was our first hint about James."

"Sorry, my mind was a little pre-occupied…" I muttered.

It was true. The minute Joshua said his name my mind shut down. I couldn't think straight. I just saw Edward kill him and that was it. I'd been trying to block out the interaction ever since, but it didn't fail to come up once and a while.

Dad ignored my comment, but Edward's hand reached for mine under the table.

"Michael is next. You found him in the city after he fed on that woman?"

I nodded.

"It wasn't too far from the castle," Edward added.

"Then the most recent is the school in Forks; you already know those details," I said.

I'd never felt so uncomfortable in this room before. Yes, I had to do the same thing after killing James, but this time was different. After I killed James, we knew it was all over. But now the future was unknown. "Can I leave?" I suddenly asked; like I wasn't in control of my voice. But after I said it, I knew why.

Edward looked like he was about to get up and leave with me, but I stopped him. "No, you two keep… you know," I gestured to the book Dad was writing in. "I'll just– be around."

My dad and Edward were silent as I left the room. I wasn't really sure where I was going but it didn't take long for me to be out of the castle and in town.

I wondered if my brain was trying to tell me that I didn't want to be part of the castle anymore. But that couldn't be true, could it? Maybe my dad should've kept everything from me. Maybe the secrets would've kept my brain safe, they would've kept it from all this spinning, all the wondering.

I stopped myself. No. I wanted to know all the details.

Then, for one spilt second, I saw everything from Alice's perspective. Alice could easily see the futures of Edward and I. So what would happen if she saw something she didn't like and there was no way to prevent it? She didn't want anything to do with what was going on. She was trying to protect herself – even if turning off her visions was impossible.

So then the next fact confused me; when we got into that fight, just as I was leaving she muttered "_I may not be on the guard, but you bet I'm going to protect my family_."

How did she plan on protecting Edward by keeping herself safe?

How did _I_ plan on fighting when I couldn't take the facts? The secrets?

I already knew the answer. I was going to have to take the bull by the horns, look the enemy straight in the eye and tackle it. The answer completely contradicted the question; I was going to have to listen to the facts and the secrets and store them in my brain to fight and I couldn't let them bother me.

I believed in my guard. We were strong... even with a few setbacks. If we trained and faced the facts, we could win, we could survive, and we'd all be safe.

Once it was all over, my brain could finally be safe.

A bell rung throughout the cool air and my eyes focused on the church. I was standing a few yards away from it.

It made me wonder if maybe my parents went to this church, if they took me here once.

But as the last bell tone rung, my mind took on a whole new problem. The doors opened and people swarmed out and lined themselves up on either side of the door.

The church bells were wedding bells. And soon a handsome man and a beautiful woman were running out the doors, hands linked together, laughing as their friends and family showered them in rice. The people in town clapped as they watched the happy couple make their way to the car and I found myself clapping along with them. My eyes stung and I instantly thought of Edward.

I still felt terrible and embarrassed for saying no. My reasoning behind my answer remained the same but my heart still ached to say yes. And watching this happy couple made me want the same for Edward and I. But there was no way we could ever have that. We weren't human, and that was the bottom line. We weren't human and we didn't even live normal vampire lives.

_One day, though. One day we will get married. _

"Her dress was beautiful," Alice's voice came from beside me. She hadn't been there for long, but long enough.

"It was," I agreed.

"You want one like that?" she asked – obviously knowing about Edward's attempted proposal.

"I prefer something simpler."

"Why _did_ you say no?" Alice suddenly asked. "I didn't see that part."

I swallowed hard. "I love Edward more than anything in the world. But I'm not stupid."

She looked at me questioningly.

I continued. "With all the drama going on, plus an oncoming threat, I'm not going to break a promise. And even if we get married in these next three weeks, I don't want a wedding stuck in the middle of all this grief and drama. It's supposed to be happy." I thought of how happy everyone was at the wedding that just took place in front of me.

Her eyes widened a bit with understanding. "You don't think you'll survive." It wasn't a question.

"Not necessarily, but anything could happen."

A silence fell between us before I asked, "How did you know I'd be here?_ I_ didn't even know I'd be here."

She smiled a a bit and shrugged. "I guessed."

I smiled back and it reminded me of something I'd wanted to say to her. "Thanks for giving us a time zone, by the way."

Her smiled disappeared and I regretted bringing up the topic. "I've been miserable."

I shrugged. "I know why. I understand why. That doesn't mean I like why, but you get the picture," I told her. It was true. I saw why Alice didn't want anything to do with us, but the question of what her plans were still took residence in my brain.

"You haven't figured it all out yet though…" Alice pointed out.

Her words confirmed my suspicions.

"Edward's a little worried, by the way. Aro's not."

"You talked to him?" I asked.

"No, I just eavesdrop a lot."

I almost laughed. "Are you gonna talk to him?"

She shrugged. "I haven't planned on it yet."

"You should," I told her honestly. "He hasn't mentioned it yet, but I know he hates not having everyone's approval." I saw it every day in Edward's face. I knew he was keeping it all together for my sake. Because of my_ fragile state_… but that was about to change.

I eventually made it back to the castle, where I went straight to our room and Edward pulled me into his arms.

That's when I told him everything. I told him what I thought about my decision to stop myself from letting everything take over my brain. Then he kissed me for a long time.

Afterwards we just lay in our room together. Occasionally bringing up small topics that didn't mean much but then silence went on for a while. The tension in the air grew thick and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

I finally broke the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head."Not particularly."

Of course he didn't. He even tried to hide how much he hated the break in his relationship with Alice. But he had to get it out sometime, so I did something I knew I shouldn't; I started pushing him. "Are you scared?" I asked.

He just shrugged.

I sighed.

"How would anyone have any idea of what could happen afterwards?" He said it so quietly, I barely heard it. "Not even Alice could determine that."

"You know she has something up her sleeve, right?"

He spoke with a louder voice now. "I'd know better than anyone."

"So what do we do?"

He sighed. "We have to get her back on our side. We– I don't–" he broke off and squeezed his eyes shut before restarting. "I don't want this for either us."

I couldn't stand seeing him like this and wrapped my arms around his waist. His head fell into my neck and his arms wrapped around my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Edward. I'm sorry I ever brought you here. I never thought this would happen."

"I'm not sorry. Neither of us knew she was going to react like that." He lifted his head and rested his forehead against mine. "It doesn't change that fact that I'm glad I came."

I smiled. "As much as I love having you here, I hate that you're involved in this mess."

"Hey," the corners of his mouth turned up a bit, "we're mates right? Both of us or not at all."

**A/N - Basically a filler chapter. Hello to all my new readers! There's been a lot of activity over on Ignite lately! New chapter next week!**


	15. Ready to Fight

**A/N - I'm crazy excited to finish this story. Partly because I've been working on it for so long and also because I have exciting things happening! I'm going to let you get on with the chapter, but there is more A/N at the end. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight blah blah not me**

A week had passed since I called the meeting. I hadn't spoken to Alice since our interaction at the church. Nothing had changed in the castle, really. There was a lot of talk about what to expect but all we'd really done was mentally prepare ourselves.

But today I found myself sitting at a table in the library that had been pulled longer so it fit more people. The Cullen Clan surrounded me.

"I'm glad you all decided to join me," Carlisle stated. It was weird to see Carlisle call attention in a place where I'd only seen my dad do so. "But I think it's important we all lay it out on the table so anyone can start when they'd like."

Quiet. No one wanted to speak first.

So I did what I always did; I took action. "Well if no one's guessed it already; you should know we can't predict what will happen after the invasion. I don't even know what the possibilities are. And I'm sorry but I don't know if you'll ever be able to go back to Forks." I had no idea how close the Cullens were with the city of Forks. It hadn't exactly appealed to me when I lived there with them, but it felt like home with the Cullens all together.

"Good," Rosalie said. "I hate that town."

Then Alice spoke, "Well I don't know how much more you expect, Carlisle. Obviously there's secrets around here even Bella doesn't know about so there's not much else to lie on the table."

Esme shot Alice a pleading look.

I felt confused. Alice was so kind to me that day in front of the church – it was like for a moment, we understood each other. But now that seemed to disappear.

Carlisle sighed.

"I want to know how you expect us to stay away from the fight," Emmett suddenly said.

Everyone at the table turned their head to look at him in shock.

"What? Oh, c'mon. You all know you want to be there."

"Well we could be some sort of a help, I mean were doing it for siblings here," Jasper agreed. And I took note of his use of the word _siblings__._

"Absolutely not," I countered immediately. "You don't get it. You don't know how dangerous it can get."

Edward nodded. "I don't want you all out there – you could literally get yourselves killed."

"So we'll train with you," Emmett said.

"No," I said it with an edge. But I didn't feel bad about it; they had to understand the risks.

The whole time Carlisle, Esme, even Rosalie and Alice stayed silent. I tried to lock eyes with someone, but they refused. The room silenced as no one else seemed to have anything left to say.

So I stared at Alice until she couldn't refuse anymore. Surely she wouldn't agree to this? But she finally met my gaze and became the old Alice. "Families protect each other," was all she said.

"So how are we supposed to feel if something happens to one of you?" I asked. My voice firm.

"What about vice versa?" Carlisle asked.

I turned my head to look at him, I never thought Carlisle would agree to something like this. "That would be none of your responsibility," I replied.

"But it would feel like it, that's the point. Alice is right, families are for protecting."

I hadn't noticed I was standing, my palms flat against the table, until I felt Edwards hand graze across my forearm and pull me down.

I turned to look at him and the look he gave back was one I knew very well. It was the _what are you thinking _look. That was Edward, always wondering the strange things going through my mind.

But what exactly was going through my mind was my dad's voice; _you can't protect everyone, Bella. It doesn't matter how much you want to._ If I couldn't protect one family, then I'd die trying to protect the other.

I looked away from him and back to Carlisle. "You're right; families are for protecting," I said in a calm voice. Everyone around the table looked hopeful, like I was about to cave. "And that's exactly what we're doing by not letting you in on the fight. We're protecting you."

"So then what are we supposed to do while you're fighting?" Rosalie asked.

"You wait patiently in your rooms until it's over," Edward told them. "That's it. Topic closed."

"Fine," Alice said. "Then I have a different question; why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Alice only saw actions, decisions; not reasoning. The question was directed at both of us, and I knew Edward had the real answer. I was about to make something up, when I saw all his hesitation but he beat me to it. "I didn't _want_ to tell you," he admitted.

Esme's eyes grew wide. "Why, Edward? You know you can trust us."

Edward turned his head to look at her. It was the first she said anything. "Because I didn't have to see the future to know exactly what was going to happen. And guess what?" His hands flew up from his sides, his eyes going bright and wide. "I was right! I can read all your minds! I know _exactly_ how you all feel! Even if you only thought it for a split second; I know that you all didn't like it at some point."

I'd never seen Edward look so insane. His breaking point had finally came and I knew something was about to shatter against a wall. Edward had a temper; yes. But it didn't come out too often. He had a certain air about him that always seemed calm and understanding.

But I guess we were the perfect pair. I was impulsive and he had a temper. We were, after all, still in teenage bodies.

He continued, "So you want to know why I didn't tell you? I want to know why you don't like it, Alice!"

He was standing now, like I was a few seconds ago, with his palms flat against the table. But I made no move to calm him down. I guessed a week ago, that Edward would have to let it out sometime. It seemed like it was best for everyone to let Edward get out what he needed to.

"You already know the answer, Edward! I'm trying to protect you! I don't like that both of you are here and I'm not about to make Bella leave her family, but you've already done that. You've already left us!" Then she was standing too.

Now I had to say something. "And you wonder why we didn't tell you. We knew you'd be the hardest to get on board, Alice, but what's done is done."

She shot me a cold look. "Don't even say that, you're the one that brought him here."

It was as if Alice had slapped me. She said what the little voice in the back of my head had been telling me this whole time. It was my fault we were in this mess. It was my fault there was a wedge between Edward and his family. I couldn't even think of a comeback as my whole face stung.

I silently got up out of my chair and left the room, closing the door behind me. I didn't know where to go so I picked the wall beside the door and slid down until I hit the floor. My legs folded up against my chest.

I heard the voices in the room lower. A chair scrapped against the floor and a body connected with a cushion.

"I came willingly… you know that," Edward said. "I can't believe you just blamed her. This isn't Bella's fault at all, got that?"

"How else would you have gotten here, Edward?"

My hands trembled and I tried to tune out the conversation.

Another chair scraped against the floor and footsteps started towards the door. I stared at the wall in front of me as the door opened. "Come to tell me you're all leaving?"

"No," Carlisle answered. "I came to make sure you were okay." He sat against wall next to me.

"They still fighting?" I asked.

Carlisle looked confused.

"I'm tuning it out. Well...trying, at least."

He sighed. "Alice is coming from a good place, you know."

"I used to know that. Now I'm not so sure."

He put an arm around my shoulder. "Just give her time. Alice has her own way of doing things. It's just a matter of time."

I just sighed in response.

"And it's not your fault they're fighting. It's your fault that he's happy. And I can't thank you enough for that. He's always been so full of grief, but you've made him alive again."

I laughed lightly. "All I've done is love him."

I listened back into the room and Esme seemed to be getting them to speak calmly to each other. I wondered if Edward got out all that he needed to.

There was silence between us before I spoke up again. "You've been alive a lot longer than I have, Carlisle; has something like this ever happened before?"

He nodded. "Romanians ruled this species before the Volturi ever did."

"How many people died?"

"Are you sure you want to know that, Bella?"

"No, I was just wondering if you'd tell me." That was partly true.

"I had a conversation with your dad the other day, you know he's a very old friend of mine. I'm aware this rebellion goes a lot deeper than just the Volturi. But he's very convinced that you'll all make it through, especially with you on his side. You can control a room better then he can with just a snap of your fingers… his words, not mine.

"A lot of people think very highly of you, but I think they forget you're still inside a teenager's body. You were raised by a good person and I believe what people think of you is quite accurate."

I was stunned by his words. They meant a lot, but there were also a few unspoken words that hung between us. I realized this as I heard footsteps come to the door beside me, and Edward walked out. The rebellion goes a lot deeper than just the Volturi because it all comes back to me.

Edward pulled me up off the floor and crushed me in his arms. Carlisle was right; I was a teenage girl, wanting to stay in my boyfriends arms. And I was a Volturi, ready to fight a rebellion.

**A/N - It feels like I've been writing a completely different story lately and so I have to apologize, but if you write as well you'll know that your writing can evolve as you do something and so it's completely normal. I've thought about re-writing the first part of this story, but let's be honest I'll be happy when it's done and probably won't revisit it for a while. **

**I've also been thinking of doing a chaptered fic for the mortal instruments. But I haven't worked everything out yet and I want to finish this first.**

**As always, please let me know what you think of this chapter by reviewing! **

**If you like this fic and have other Twilight-loving friends you should share it!**

**Thank you so much for your continued support! **


	16. Proposal

**Disclaimer - I obviously do not own the Twilight Saga, I just enjoy borrowing Stephanie Meyer's characters**

"Let's go!" Demetri yelled before pounding on the door. He was going to everyone of them yelling about meeting in the throne room for training. Another week had passed and today was the third day in a row Dad had Demetri rounding everyone up to train.

Edward and I were in our room, lying on the bed. Finding us together was the usual since the discovery of having little time until the expected invasion.

I groaned. "Do we have to?" I pressed my lips against his.

He chuckled, "I suppose we should." But he kissed me again anyways, until the door burst open.

It was obviously Demetri. "Let's go love birds! We've got training to do!"

"Did you ever think that everyone might be a little tired of this?" I asked him, getting up.

"Vampires don't get tired. It's direct orders from Aro, anyways."

I rolled my eyes, going into the closet to change.

"And you!" I heard Demetri say to Edward. "Are gonna learn a lot today. We've got multiple attackers on the agenda and were gonna deal with Bella's shield."

I came out and rolled my eyes again.

We gathered down in the throne room and Caius was there to get started. I didn't know a lot about Caius' history, but I knew he was a better fighter then my dad.

"Let's do multiple attacks first. We'll work on your shield later, Bella," Caius said. "Heidi, I want you against Bella and Alec – no powers."

After discussing it, we figured some of the rebels would be seriously trained. To our knowledge they've been building themselves up since I found myself in the Volturi's hands, and two hundred years was a significant amount of time. But if the rebels had been around for that long they wouldn't send trained leaders to do the dirty work. Just like how Dad, Marcus, and Caius wouldn't be doing any fighting unless it became necessary.

So I attacked like any new fighter would and was easily thrown against the wall by Heidi. By the time I got back on my feet I saw that Alec was off to the side and guessed that she was already done with him – it's not like we could actually rip each other's heads off while training – so I a little harder.

Heidi was a good fighter, though, and soon I was done too.

We went back to stand with the others and wait for further instructions and my hand was in Edward's again. Edwards hand tightened for a quarter of a second before Caius said, "Got that Edward? You're next. Demetri and Bella you two can get up here, too."

I felt Edward's arm slide around me as we sat on the rooftop garden. He just got back from talking to Esme but I guessed that the other Cullens would've been there too.

"They've agreed to stay put unless they're in danger," he said.

I sighed with relief. "Thank God. Because I don't know what I would've done if they hadn't."

I felt him shrug beside me. "It wouldn't be too much of a problem; the majority would've agreed and then they could keep the minority away."

"But still, if they got hurt…" I repressed a shutter that threatened to glide across my back.

Edwards grip tightened around my waist and his lips found my temple. "I know," he whispered it so quietly I wouldn't have heard if it weren't for his lips grazing above my ear. They pressed against my temple softly then and his other hand wound around the front of my torso and lifted me onto his lap. His lips made their way across my closed eye lids, around my nose, and found my lips.

It was a slow, passionate kiss; something that didn't happen a lot in our lives on the guard. One that said, _if you don't make it, I won't make it._ We didn't need to read each other's minds to know that.

It was true. We had friends and family – plenty of them. But as something that lives forever, there's that thing in that back of your mind that reminds you that those people can leave whenever they want. As a vampire your mate is what you truly look for; someone that you're forever stuck to.

I broke away, feeling as though I'd had an epiphany. "Edward." My voice came out clear and strong.

His eyes had worry in them, but he didn't need to worry, not now.

"Ask me again," I said.

He just kept staring at me, trying to find my reasoning. "I don't understand, Bella."

But I saw behind the confusion, and he knew exactly what I meant… or at least hoped he knew what I meant. So I got off his lap and stood him in front of me. "Yes you do. Ask me again."

He stood for a moment, searching for something in my eyes. Then reached for something in his back pocket and knelt onto one knee in front of me.

It wasn't like I didn't expect it; I enforced it in the first place. But all of a sudden I felt overwhelmed – not in a bad way but in an holy-crap-I-love-this-man-until-the-end-of-forever -but-longer kind of way. And so I had to grip onto his shoulders as he opened a velvet blue box to reveal a delicate looking ring inside. It shined bright as if it had just been perfectly polished but it looked hundreds of years old.

"Isabella Rossi-Volturi, the minute I saw you I knew I loved you. And now, I can't imagine one day going by without seeing your beautiful face. I'll always love you. Longer then forever; I'll love you for eternity… Bella? Will you marry me?"

I couldn't help the smile that spread wide across my face. I couldn't find my voice suddenly and my head just kept bobbing up and down.

Edward seemed to be okay with that answer and his own happy grin spread across his face. Then he picked me up off the ground and kissed me.

I kissed him back with all the love I could muster up and wrapped my legs around his torso. When I pulled away I finally found my voice. "Yes, Edward. I'll marry you. Of course." Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt the sense of crying. My eyes stung and my chest felt heavy and my breath stuttered as it came out. "I love you so much."

"You have no idea," he said back.

Then I jumped down from him but when my feet hit the ground our foreheads found each other and we both just smiled like idiots.

He grabbed my left hand and I felt the warm metal slide around my ring finger and looked down to admire it. "It's beautiful," I said.

"It was my mothers."

I looked back up at him to check if he was joking but his face was serious. "Edward, I-"

"No," he interrupted. "I want _you_ to have it. _She_ would've wanted you to have it. It's not like there's anyone else I can pass it onto anyways."

I blinked slowly, letting his words sink in. It was true; we couldn't pass it onto anyone. But was that he thought his mother would want me to have it that left me without words, and I wondered what it would be like to have met her.

"She would've loved you; you're quite alike. You're both independent, strong."

I swallowed hard trying to get rid of the feeling of tears so I wouldn't have to think about being human, but it didn't work. "I've never wanted to cry so much my whole life." He wrapped both arms around me again and I pressed my face into his shoulder. "Happy tears," I said, but it got a little muffled.

He laughed a bit and it made me smile. "Well I sure hope they're happy tears."

I nodded against his shoulder. "They are."

He pulled away then and just clutched onto my right hand. "You can come out now," he said towards the door leading to the roof we stood on.

I was shocked when it wasn't just the Cullens standing on the other side, it was my dad and Marcus and Caius and the whole guard waiting to congratulate us. And I knew it had to be Alice, she would've been the only one to have figured it out; especially with her talent.

My hand slipped away from Edward's in an instant, but it didn't bother me so much since I could hear his voice and laughter from the five foot space separating us. The girls admired the ring and the boys gave me a congratulations and a ruffle of the hair.

But what made me the happiest was having my dad pick me up the most bone crushing hug yet and whisper in my ear, "I'm so proud of you, Isabella."

Getting sappy with my dad was weird so I just said, "Good," and laughed lightly, but squeezed him back just as hard.

He let me go and I turned to see Carlisle and Esme, patiently waiting.

"Welcome to the family, Bella," Carlisle said with a smile and then I couldn't help but practically fling myself at them and hug them tight.

I whispered quietly, "Thanks for taking care of him before I rolled around."

When I pulled away I heard it before I felt it. I single raindrop landed right on my shoulder. As I froze everyone on the roof stopped to see why.

"It's raining," was all I said. Edward's voice filled my mind; _we got it_, he said. _Next time it rains._

It was the invasion.

**A/N - Awww, theres a fluff-filled chapter for y'all since the next one (as I'm sure you can tell) will not be. Please remember to review so I know what you think, I appreciate it all. I just finished chapter 20 and i'm super excited for you guys to read it, so hang in there! **

**Also, hello new readers!**


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